Emerging research has identified metabolic pathways that are crucial for the proper regulation of immune cells and how, when deranged, they can cause immune dysfunction and disease progression. However, due to technical limitations such insights have relied heavily on bulk measurements in immune cells, often activated in vitro. But with the emergence of single-cell applications, researchers can now estimate the metabolic state of individual immune cells in clinical samples. Here, we review these single-cell techniques and their ability to validate common principles in immunometabolism, while also revealing context-dependent metabolic heterogeneity within the immune cell compartment. We also discuss current gaps and limitations, as well as identify future opportunities to move the field forward toward the development of therapeutic targets and improved diagnostic capabilities.

新兴研究已经确定了对正确调节免疫细胞至关重要的代谢途径，以及它们如何在精神错乱时导致免疫功能障碍和疾病进展。然而，由于技术限制，这些见解严重依赖于免疫细胞的批量测量，通常在体外激活. 但随着单细胞应用的出现，研究人员现在可以估计临床样本中单个免疫细胞的代谢状态。在这里，我们回顾了这些单细胞技术及其验证免疫代谢常见原理的能力，同时还揭示了免疫细胞区室中依赖于环境的代谢异质性。我们还讨论了当前的差距和局限性，并确定了推动该领域朝着开发治疗目标和提高诊断能力发展的未来机会。