Salty Treg cells get out of balance.

Abstract

Although metabolic rewiring of Treg cells constitutes a hallmark in autoimmune diseases, extrinsic and intrinsic mechanisms that imprint on this re-programming remain poorly understood. In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Côrte-Real and colleagues demonstrate that high salt exposure disturbs the mitochondrial respiration in Treg cells, promoting a pro-inflammatory phenotype, loss of function, and associated breakdown of self-tolerance.