Anthony Ferrante Jr., MD, PhD

For several decades it was known that obesity and related metabolic disorders increase the concentration inflammatory molecules found in the circulation and in key metabolic tissues. Studies in the Ferrante Laboratory revealed that the obesity-induced increases in inflammation are part of a complex immune response in which macrophages, T-cells and NK cells are recruited to metabolic organs and tissues during the development of \obesity, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. For example, in lean individuals macrophages constitute ~5% of the cells in adipose tissue, but in the most obese individuals 50% or more of the cells in a fat depot are macrophages. Studies from the Ferrante and other laboratories have demonstrated a close association of subpopulations of immune cells with the metabolic complications of obesity including diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Much of the current work in the Ferrante Laboratory is focused on identifying and characterizing the immune cell populations that are altered by obesity and how the immune system regulates metabolism. By determining the adaptive and pathological functions of the immune system in metabolism, the laboratory identifies cells, pathways and molecules that are candidate targets for therapeutic interventions and that can be used to predict metabolic outcomes.