Hypertonic sodium-induced alterations in electrolyte balance and their impact on macrophage immunometabolism and function

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Immune cells are able to sense their microenvironment and subsequently adapt their energy demand and function. Local tissue Na+ concentration increases with age, inflammation and infection. We and others have shown that hypertonic Na+ microenvironments alter T cell and macrophage function in a context-specific manner. Exposure of macrophages to extracellular hypertonic Na+ equivalent to what we had seen e.g. in rodent's infected skin promotes their pro-inflammatory function and curtails their regulatory and anti-inflammatory potential. The present proposal aims to investigate the molecular mechanism how Na+ handling, macrophage metabolism and macrophage function are interconnected. The proposed experiments might unravel novel strategies to specifically modulate immune response.