Timing of Infection and Immune Response Linked to Meals

New research involving mice and humans suggests that the timing of potential infections may be influenced by when a person last ate. Experiments indicate that T cells, a type of immune cell, receive a boost after meals.

These findings, published in Nature, could lead to enhanced immune therapies, aid in determining optimal vaccination times, and eventually highlight how diet impacts immunity.

Greg Delgoffe, an immunologist at the University of Pittsburgh, remarked on the age-old saying: “starve a fever, feed a cold,” implying there might be truth to it. He believes it’s worth reassessing how diet affects immune responses. “I think we usually overlook what people have eaten and when,” he notes. “This could significantly impact T cell effectiveness.”

Lionel Apetoh, an immunologist at Indiana University who wasn’t part of the study, expressed excitement about the findings, pointing out that earlier research on T cells primarily focused on long-term dietary changes.

Boosted Immune Cells

T cells are essential white blood cells that orchestrate immune responses, demanding substantial energy for activation. To explore this, Delgoffe and his team collected blood samples from participants before their first meal and again after six hours of eating freely. They examined the metabolic changes in the T cells present in the blood.

Results showed that after eating, participants’ T cells accessed the nutrients needed for energy-intensive activation more efficiently than when fasting overnight. Following meals, these cells appeared more capable of absorbing sugars, had increased fats, and more efficient mitochondria. As a result, T cells responded more effectively to threats; experiments in mice revealed improved proliferation and enhanced protection against infections.

Apetoh found the timing of the study’s results particularly surprising. “Six hours isn’t a long period, and it still shows significant implications for T cell immunity,” he remarked.