MAIT cell alterations involved in obesity and T2 diabetes

CNRS: Scientists at Institut Cochin (CNRS/Inserm/Université Paris Descartes) and ICAN – Institute of Cardiometabolism And Nutrition (Inserm/UPMC/AP-HP) have discovered that a class of inflammatory cells, MAIT lymphocytes¹, is deregulated in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes and obesity.In these patients, bariatric surgery (or a gastric bypass)², which relieves inflammation, can restore the normal functioning of MAIT cells. Already known to be activated by certain bacterial populations and to favor inflammation, these cells may explain the link between alterations that affect the intestinal flora (microbiota) and the inflammatory nature of these diseases. These findings are published on 9 March 2015 in Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Notes:

¹MAIT: Mucosal-Associated Invariant T cells
²The gastric bypass technique consists in short-circuiting a large portion of the stomach, reducing it to a small pouch linked to the small intestine, which thus reduces the amount of food ingested and assimilated.

References:

Mucosal-associated invariant T cell alterations in obese and type 2 diabetic patients, Isabelle Magalhaes, Karine Pingris, Christine Poitou, Stéphanie Bessoles, Nicolas Venteclef, Badr Kiaf, Lucie Beaudoin, Jennifer Da Silva, Omran Allatif, Jamie Rossjohn, Lars Kjer-Nielsen, James McCluskey, Séverine Ledoux, Laurent Genser, Adriana Torcivia, Claire Soudais, Olivier Lantz, Christian Boitard, Judith Aron-Wisnewsky, Etienne Larger, Karine Clément et Agnès Lehuen. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, March 9 2015. doi: 10.1172/JCI78941. View web site