Want to lose weight? Don't be too hard. It's good to hoard some fat. In a new study published in the journal Nature communication on the 8th, researchers from the University of East Anglia and the kadram Institute in the UK revealed how human immune cells use the fat stored in the body to fight infection. The new findings provide new insights into how the blood and immune system respond to infections, or help develop new treatments for bacterial infections. The team studied Salmonella, a bacterium that causes diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever and sepsis. They tracked the movement and consumption of fatty acids in living stem cells, analyzed the immune response to Salmonella bacterial infection through liver injury, and revealed how hematopoietic stem cells respond to infection by obtaining high-energy fatty acids from fat stored in the body. The team found that in the bone marrow where hematopoietic stem cells are located, infection signals drive adipocytes to release stored fat into the blood in the form of fatty acids. These high-energy fatty acids are then ingested by hematopoietic stem cells, effectively feeding stem cells, enabling them to produce millions of white blood cells against Salmonella. In addition, the researchers also identified the mechanism of fatty acid transfer. "Fighting infection requires a lot of energy, and fat storage is a huge energy reserve, which provides fuel for hematopoietic stem cells to enhance immune response." Dr. Stuart Rushworth of Norwich School of medicine at the University of East Anglia said, "the study of the working mechanism of this fat 'fuel booster' gives us new ideas on how to strengthen the body against infection in the future." Dr. Nyala belaza, from the kadram Institute, said the results let us understand how the immune system uses fat to stimulate the response to infection. Clarifying these mechanisms will enable us to develop new therapies for liver infection. Rashworth added that antibiotic resistance is a common challenge facing today's society, and there is an urgent need to explore new methods like this to help the human immune system fight infection. (outlook new era)