TY - JOUR
T1 - Itaconic Acid
T2 - The Surprising Role of an Industrial Compound as a Mammalian Antimicrobial Metabolite
AU - Cordes, Thekla
AU - Michelucci, Alessandro
AU - Hiller, Karsten
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright ©2015 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/7/17
Y1 - 2015/7/17
N2 - Itaconic acid is well known as a precursor for polymer synthesis and has been involved in industrial processes for decades. In a recent surprising discovery, itaconic acid was found to play a role as an immune-supportive metabolite in mammalian immune cells, where it is synthesized as an antimicrobial compound from the citric acid cycle intermediate cis-aconitic acid. Although the immune-responsive gene 1 protein (IRG1) has been associated to immune response without a mechanistic function, the critical link to itaconic acid production through an enzymatic function of this protein was only recently revealed. In this review, we highlight the history of itaconic acid as an industrial and antimicrobial compound, starting with its biotechnological synthesis and ending with its antimicrobial function in mammalian immune cells.
AB - Itaconic acid is well known as a precursor for polymer synthesis and has been involved in industrial processes for decades. In a recent surprising discovery, itaconic acid was found to play a role as an immune-supportive metabolite in mammalian immune cells, where it is synthesized as an antimicrobial compound from the citric acid cycle intermediate cis-aconitic acid. Although the immune-responsive gene 1 protein (IRG1) has been associated to immune response without a mechanistic function, the critical link to itaconic acid production through an enzymatic function of this protein was only recently revealed. In this review, we highlight the history of itaconic acid as an industrial and antimicrobial compound, starting with its biotechnological synthesis and ending with its antimicrobial function in mammalian immune cells.
KW - Immune-responsive gene 1 protein (IRG1)
KW - Inflammation
KW - Macrophage
KW - Metabolic immunity
KW - Metabolism
KW - cis-aconitic acid decarboxylase
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84937572123&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071714-034243
DO - 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071714-034243
M3 - Review article
C2 - 25974697
AN - SCOPUS:84937572123
SN - 0199-9885
VL - 35
SP - 451
EP - 473
JO - Annual Review of Nutrition
JF - Annual Review of Nutrition
IS - 1
ER -