T reg–specific insulin receptor deletion prevents diet-induced and age-associated metabolic syndrome

D Wu, CK Wong, JM Han, PC Orban, Q Huang… - Journal of Experimental …, 2020 - rupress.org
D Wu, CK Wong, JM Han, PC Orban, Q Huang, J Gillies, M Mojibian, WT Gibson
Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2020rupress.org
Adipose tissue (AT) regulatory T cells (T regs) control inflammation and metabolism. Diet-
induced obesity causes hyperinsulinemia and diminishes visceral AT (VAT) T reg number
and function, but whether these two phenomena were mechanistically linked was unknown.
Using a T reg–specific insulin receptor (Insr) deletion model, we found that diet-induced T
reg dysfunction is driven by T reg–intrinsic insulin signaling. Compared with Foxp3cre mice,
after 13 wk of high-fat diet, Foxp3creInsrfl/fl mice exhibited improved glucose tolerance and …
Adipose tissue (AT) regulatory T cells (T regs) control inflammation and metabolism. Diet-induced obesity causes hyperinsulinemia and diminishes visceral AT (VAT) T reg number and function, but whether these two phenomena were mechanistically linked was unknown. Using a T reg–specific insulin receptor (Insr) deletion model, we found that diet-induced T reg dysfunction is driven by T reg–intrinsic insulin signaling. Compared with Foxp3cre mice, after 13 wk of high-fat diet, Foxp3creInsrfl/fl mice exhibited improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, effects associated with lower AT inflammation and increased numbers of ST2+ T regs in brown AT, but not VAT. Similarly, Foxp3creInsrfl/fl mice were protected from the metabolic effects of aging, but surprisingly had reduced VAT T regs and increased VAT inflammation compared with Foxp3cre mice. Thus, in both diet- and aging-associated hyperinsulinemia, excessive Insr signaling in T regs leads to undesirable metabolic outcomes. Ablation of Insr signaling in T regs represents a novel approach to mitigate the detrimental effects of hyperinsulinemia on immunoregulation of metabolic syndrome.
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