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MINI REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Immunological Tolerance and Regulation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1554028
This article is part of the Research Topic Ironome: A Still Untapped Frontier View all 5 articles
Iron and energy metabolic interactions in Treg-mediated immune regulation
Provisionally accepted- 1 Inserm UMR 1297 Maladies Metaboliques et Cardiovasculaires Toulouse France, Toulouse, France
- 2 Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, Occitanie, France
- 3 Biochemistry and genetic laboratory, CHU toulouse, Toulouse, France
- 4 INSERM UMR1291 Institut Toulousain des Maladies Infectieuses et Inflammatoires, Toulouse, France
Immunometabolism, the study of how metabolic processes influence immune cell function, has emerged as a critical field in understanding the regulation of immune tolerance and the pathological mechanisms underlying autoimmune diseases. Intracellular metabolic pathways not only provide the necessary energy for immune cell survival and activity but also shape the differentiation, phenotype, proliferation, and effector functions of immune cells. This is particularly evident in CD4+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg), which are pivotal for maintaining immune homeostasis and preventing autoimmune reactions. Strong experimental evidence highlights the profound impact of metabolism on Treg. Their anti-inflammatory function and ability to suppress excessive immune responses depend on the integration of metabolic cues with their transcriptional and signaling networks. Iron metabolism and mitochondrial dynamics are among the key factors influencing Treg function. This review focuses on how iron and mitochondrial metabolism shape Treg biology and function.
Keywords: Foxp3, Treg, Mitochondria, Iron, ROS, Immunoregulation
Received: 02 Jan 2025; Accepted: 03 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Savagner, Frage, Karim and Aloulou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Frederique Savagner, Inserm UMR 1297 Maladies Metaboliques et Cardiovasculaires Toulouse France, Toulouse, France
Meryem Aloulou, INSERM UMR1291 Institut Toulousain des Maladies Infectieuses et Inflammatoires, Toulouse, 31024, France
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