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The many facets of immunometabolism
Since immunometabolism was first defined in the literature in 2011, this research area has illuminated the importance of metabolic regulation of immune function and how the regulation of metabolism by the immune system impacts human health. In recent years, the influence of immunometabolism as an upstream regulator, not just a downstream consequence of aging, infection and disease, has emphasized the importance and opportunities of this field for human health. This collection of articles aims to shine a light on the many facets of immunometabolism, highlighting how molecular and cellular mechanisms impact diverse tissue and organismal functions and the exciting potential for leveraging immunometabolism for therapeutic interventions. Articles cover topics including the role of immunometabolites in bacterial infections, how immunometabolism affects obesity and targeting immunometabolism therapeutically. The image shows the 3D reconstruction of mitochondria (white), lamellar cristae (yellow), and tubular cristae (cyan) in an NIH3T3 cell.
Image Credit: Shogo Suga and Koki Nakamura
Citation: (2026) PLoS Biology Issue Image | Vol. 24(1) February 2026. PLoS Biol 24(1): ev24.i01. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pbio.v24.i01
Published: February 10, 2026
Copyright: © 2026 . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Since immunometabolism was first defined in the literature in 2011, this research area has illuminated the importance of metabolic regulation of immune function and how the regulation of metabolism by the immune system impacts human health. In recent years, the influence of immunometabolism as an upstream regulator, not just a downstream consequence of aging, infection and disease, has emphasized the importance and opportunities of this field for human health. This collection of articles aims to shine a light on the many facets of immunometabolism, highlighting how molecular and cellular mechanisms impact diverse tissue and organismal functions and the exciting potential for leveraging immunometabolism for therapeutic interventions. Articles cover topics including the role of immunometabolites in bacterial infections, how immunometabolism affects obesity and targeting immunometabolism therapeutically. The image shows the 3D reconstruction of mitochondria (white), lamellar cristae (yellow), and tubular cristae (cyan) in an NIH3T3 cell.
Image Credit: Shogo Suga and Koki Nakamura