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Review
. 2017 Feb;32(2):201-210.
doi: 10.1007/s00467-016-3349-x. Epub 2016 Feb 26.

Elementary immunology: Na+ as a regulator of immunity

Valentin Schatz  1 , Patrick Neubert  1 , Agnes Schröder  2 , Katrina Binger  3 , Matthias Gebhard  4   5 , Dominik N Müller  4   5 , Friedrich C Luft  4   5   6 , Jens Titze  2   6 , Jonathan Jantsch  7
Affiliations
Review

Elementary immunology: Na+ as a regulator of immunity

Valentin Schatz et al. Pediatr Nephrol. 2017 Feb.

Abstract

The skin can serve as an interstitial Na+ reservoir. Local tissue Na+ accumulation increases with age, inflammation and infection. This increased local Na+ availability favors pro-inflammatory immune cell function and dampens their anti-inflammatory capacity. In this review, we summarize available data on how NaCl affects various immune cells. We particularly focus on how salt promotes pro-inflammatory macrophage and T cell function and simultaneously curtails their regulatory and anti-inflammatory potential. Overall, these findings demonstrate that local Na+ availability is a promising novel regulator of immunity. Hence, the modulation of tissue Na+ levels bears broad therapeutic potential: increasing local Na+ availability may help in treating infections, while lowering tissue Na+ levels may be used to treat, for example, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: Immune cell function and activation; Local Na+ availability; Macrophages; Skin salt storage; T cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effects of a high salt level on macrophage immunobiology. COX-2 Cyclooxygenase-2, NO nitric oxide, Nos2 type-2 NO synthase, TNF tumor necrosis factor, VEGF vascular endothelial growth factor
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effects of a high salt level on T cell immunobiology. Fox01/3a Forkhead box O3 1/3a, IL-2 interleukin-2, NFAT5 nuclear factor of activated T cells, p38/MAPK p38/mitogen-activated protein kinase, SGK1 serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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