A carbon trail to follow: unveiling itaconate’s metabolism in vivo

The discovery of itaconate as an immunoregulatory metabolite has transformed the field of immunometabolism and opened multiple therapeutic avenues over the past decade. While the immunological functions of itaconic acid have been extensively studied, several aspects of its biochemistry-particularly in vivo utilization pathways-have remained unclear. In a recent study published in <i>Nature Metabolism</i>, Willenbockel et al apply carbon tracing to uncover the metabolic fate of itaconate within the organism. Insights from this work have important implications for understanding the physiological roles of itaconate and for advancing itaconate-based therapeutic strategies.