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Review
. 2025 Mar:69:361-379.
doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2024.04.014. Epub 2024 Apr 15.

Sweet regulation - The emerging immunoregulatory roles of hexoses

Junjie Xu  1 , Yuening Zhao  1 , Randall Tyler Mertens  2 , Yimin Ding  1 , Peng Xiao  3
Affiliations
Review

Sweet regulation - The emerging immunoregulatory roles of hexoses

Junjie Xu et al. J Adv Res. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Background: It is widely acknowledged that dietary habits have profound impacts on human health and diseases. As the most important sweeteners and energy sources in human diets, hexoses take part in a broad range of physiopathological processes. In recent years, emerging evidence has uncovered the crucial roles of hexoses, such as glucose, fructose, mannose, and galactose, in controlling the differentiation or function of immune cells.

Aim of review: Herein, we reviewed the latest research progresses in the hexose-mediated modulation of immune responses, provided in-depth analyses of the underlying mechanisms, and discussed the unresolved issues in this field.

Key scientific concepts of review: Owing to their immunoregulatory effects, hexoses affect the onset and progression of various types of immune disorders, including inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and tumor immune evasion. Thus, targeting hexose metabolism is becoming a promising strategy for reversing immune abnormalities in diseases.

Keywords: Cancer; Hexose; Immune cell; Inflammation; Metabolism.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Immunoregulatory effects of glucose.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Immunoregulatory effects of fructose.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Immunoregulatory effects of mannose.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Immunoregulatory effects of galactose.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Immunoregulatory effects of rare hexoses.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The regulation network of hexose metabolism.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Targeting hexose metabolism as immunotherapy strategies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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