| First Author | Xu E | Year | 2017 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 8 |
| Pages | 14803 | PubMed ID | 28466852 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:250400 | Mgi Id | MGI:5920992 |
| Doi | 10.1038/ncomms14803 | Citation | Xu E, et al. (2017) Temporal and tissue-specific requirements for T-lymphocyte IL-6 signalling in obesity-associated inflammation and insulin resistance. Nat Commun 8:14803 |
| abstractText | Low-grade inflammation links obesity to insulin resistance through the activation of tissue-infiltrating immune cells. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a crucial regulator of T cells and is increased in obesity. Here we report that classical IL-6 signalling in T cells promotes inflammation and insulin resistance during the first 8 weeks on a high-fat diet (HFD), but becomes dispensable at later stages (after 16 weeks). Mice with T cell-specific deficiency of IL-6 receptor-alpha (IL-6RalphaT-KO) exposed to a HFD display improved glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and inflammation in liver and EWAT after 8 weeks. However, after 16 weeks, insulin resistance in IL-6RalphaT-KO epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT) is comparable to that of controls, whereas the inflammatory profile is significantly worse. This coincided with a shift from classical T cell IL-6 signalling at 8 weeks, to enhanced IL-6 trans-signalling at 16 weeks. Collectively, our studies reveal that IL-6 action in T cells through classical IL-6 signalling promotes inflammation and insulin resistance early during obesity development, which can be compensated for by enhanced IL-6 trans-signalling at later stages. |
