Sodium and its manifold impact on our immune system.
The Western diet is rich in salt, and a high salt diet (HSD) is suspected to be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. It is now widely accepted that an experimental HSD can stimulate components of the immune system, potentially exacerbating certain autoimmune diseases, or alternatively, improving defenses against certain infections, such as cutaneous leishmaniasis. However, recent findings show that an experimental HSD may also aggravate other infections (e.g., pyelonephritis or systemic listeriosis). Here, we discuss the modulatory effects of a HSD on the microbiota, metabolic signaling, hormonal responses, local sodium concentrations, and their effects on various immune cell types in different tissues. We describe how these factors are integrated, resulting either in immune stimulation or suppression in various tissues and disease settings.
['Jobin|Katarzyna|K|', 'Müller|Dominik N|DN|', 'Jantsch|Jonathan|J|', 'Kurts|Christian|C|']
D004032:Diet D007107:Immune System D064307:Microbiota D012964:Sodium D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary
sodium leishmaniasis pyelonephritis listeriosis NFAT5 T cells antimicrobial defense glucocorticoids macrophages microbiome neutrophils