Biology has surprising twists and turns. Immunology and metabolism, two disciplines that had evolved somewhat in parallel, have meandered back, intersecting to create the burgeoning field of immunometabolism. The past decades have seen a striking increase in obesity together with type 2 diabetes. As researchers tackle this "large" problem from numerous angles, the role of the immune system in energy metabolism has progressively become recognized in light of the deleterious effects of cytokines, such as TNFa, in obesity and insulin resistance. It is now also established that obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and that several immune ceil types contribute to obesity-associated metabolic dysfunction, such as type 2 diabetes, hepatosteatosis, and cardiovascular diseases.
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