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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Mar 18.
Published in final edited form as: Cell. 2021 Mar 18;184(6):1517–1529. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.042

Figure 3: Impact of globalization on the metabolic function of immune cells.

Figure 3:

Top: Schematic depicts how consequences of globalization and global warming contribute to the global pandemic of human malnutrition encompassing both obesity and undernutrition. Bottom: Major biological impacts of these changes and their impacts on immune system function. Both undernutrition and obesity can cause accelerated thymic atrophy leading to decreased naïve T cells and T cell receptor diversity, along with chronic inflammation and increased cytokine signaling. Diminished memory T cell function due to malnutrition arises from enhanced mTOR activation and glycolytic flux. Dysbiosis reduces production of short chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolites which TRM require for their maintenance.