B-Cell Metabolism

B cells adjust nutrient acquisition, processing and energy generation to their current needs. Our understanding of how intracellular signalling cascades govern metabolic reprogramming in different B-cell subsets has grown substantially in the last few years. Additionally, emerging evidence suggests that the metabolic composition of the extracellular space as well as shifts in intracellular metabolite concentrations profoundly affect B-cell fate and function. B cells inhabit niches in which metabolites change dynamically due to the activity of other bystander cells, due to changes in blood supply or as a consequence of altered whole-body metabolism. Metabolites not only serve as a potential source of carbon and energy but also provide important cues central to cell fate decision-making. In order to understand how B-cell fate and function are regulated in the normal as well as in the diseased state, it is essential to explore the different ways of how metabolic and protein-based signalling pathways interact.