Navigating metabolomics in the era of immunometabolism

Immunology is undergoing a metabolic awakening, with altered metabolic states now recognized as defining features of immune cells whose functions are regulated by their bioenergetic and biosynthetic states, according to a review published in Journal of Translational Medicine . The review explains how metabolomics can help researchers investigate these metabolic programs under diverse physiological and pathological conditions. By comprehensively profiling metabolites, the approach can provide insight into pathway activity and cellular bioenergetics, potentially offering a view of metabolic changes in near real time.

It also addresses a practical problem for immunologists: designing reliable experiments and making sense of the resulting data can be technically challenging and conceptually opaque. The authors present the review as a guide for researchers beginning to incorporate metabolomics into immunology. It outlines key methodological approaches and considers common challenges alongside potential solutions, with the aim of lowering the barrier to entry for laboratories that may otherwise regard the field as inaccessible.

The guidance is intended to help immunologists design initial experiments, interpret metabolomic data produced by others and confidently incorporate metabolic measurements into their research. A central part of the article is a step-by-step roadmap for interpreting nutrient-tracing data. The review explains how readers can work through complex isotopologue datasets and draw meaningful conclusions from them.

The review’s broader message is that the expanding recognition of metabolism in immune biology is creating demand for analytical tools capable of capturing metabolic states across different conditions. Metabolomics offers one such tool because it profiles the metabolites that reflect cells’ energy use and biosynthetic activity.

Subject of Research: Practical metabolomics methods for studying immune-cell metabolism and interpreting nutrient-tracing data.

Article Title: Navigating metabolomics in the era of immunometabolism

Article References: Slattery, K., Avizonis, D. Z., O’Connor, G. M., & Gardiner, C. M. (2026). Navigating metabolomics in the era of immunometabolism. Journal of Translational Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-026-08998-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12967-026-08998-y

Keywords: metabolomics, immunometabolism, immune cells, metabolic pathways, bioenergetics, nutrient tracing, isotopologues, immunology, translational medicine, Navigating, scientific research