Role of Innate Immunity in Diabetes and Metabolism: Recent Progress in the Study of Inflammasomes.

Author: Myung Shik LEE ¹
Author Information

1. Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 135-710, Korea. mslee0923@skku.edu
Publication Type:Review
Keywords: Inflammasomes; NLRP; Diabetes; Metabolism
MeSH: Atherosclerosis; Autoimmune Diseases; Immunity, Innate; Inflammasomes; Inflammation; Islets of Langerhans; Obesity
From:Immune Network 2011;11(2):95-99
CountryRepublic of Korea
Language:English
Abstract: Type 1 diabetes is one of the classical examples of organ- specific autoimmune diseases characterized by lymphocytic infiltration or inflammation in pancreatic islets called 'insulitis'. In contrast, type 2 diabetes has been traditionally regarded as a metabolic disorder with a pathogenesis that is totally different from that of type 1 diabetes. However, recent investigation has revealed contribution of chronic inflammation in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. In addition to type 2 diabetes, the role of chronic inflammation is being appreciated in a wide variety of metabolic disorders such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis. In this review, we will cover the role of innate immunity in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders with an emphasis on NLRP3.