Investigate the role of T lymphocytes in the regulation of energy expenditure and obesity

The increasing incidence of obesity and its co-morbid conditions poses a great challenge to global health. It is becoming clear that obesity is associated not only with type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, but also with multiple types of cancer. Obesity and its associated inflammatory response has been closely linked to many aspects of cancer biology, including tumorigenesis, cancer immunotherapy and cancer cachexia. Obesity is caused by energy surplus when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. As an important contributor of total energy expenditure is adaptive thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, a promising and emerging avenue for obesity treatment is to increase energy expenditure by augmenting the activity of thermogenic adipocytes. Emerging evidence indicates that the immune system is instrumental in the control of host energy metabolism. However, the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood; specifically, the role of T-cells in regulating host thermogenesis has not been well studied. Here we identified that gamma delta T-cells and their associated signaling play a critical role in mediating adaptive thermogenesis in response to cold exposure in brown adipose tissue and high-fat-diet-induced obesity. In pursuing these studies we hope to discover new ways (targeting immune cells) to support the obesity treatment and reduce obesity-associated systemic inflammation and complications, especially cancer. Citation Format: Bo Hu, Chengcheng Jin, Xing Zeng, Mark Jedrychowski, Chen Zhao, Alex Banks, Steven Gigi, Diane Mathis, Bruce Spiegelman. Investigate the role of T lymphocytes in the regulation of energy expenditure and obesity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; Sept 30-Oct 3, 2018; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2019;7(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B062.