Trained immunity and diabetic vascular disease

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Metabolic Disorders

Background:

• Trained immunity involves innate immune cell functional reprogramming, leading to enhanced responses.
• Chronic inflammation, like that in atherosclerosis, involves macrophages and can be exacerbated by trained immunity.
• Accelerated atherosclerosis is a major complication in diabetes, linked to poor glucose control and chronic inflammation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of trained immunity in the accelerated atherosclerosis observed in diabetic patients.
• To investigate the potential immunometabolic mechanisms linking high glucose environments to trained immunity and cardiovascular risk.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent studies on trained immunity, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.
• Analysis of immunometabolic factors, including macrophage phenotype and glycolysis.
• Speculative modeling of how high glucose impacts trained immunity in atherosclerosis.

Main Results:

• Endogenous compounds linked to atherosclerosis can induce trained immunity.
• Long-term changes in myeloid progenitors may contribute to chronic inflammation in diabetic patients.
• High glucose may enhance pro-inflammatory consequences of trained immunity via metabolic changes like increased glycolysis.

Conclusions:

• Trained immunity may contribute to the chronic inflammatory state driving atherosclerosis in diabetes.
• The immunometabolic environment in diabetes, particularly high glucose, could potentiate trained immunity, worsening cardiovascular risk.