IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Postbiotics alter immunometabolism during metabolic disease

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Video Summary

The talk focused on postbiotics—nonliving bacterial components and metabolites that still influence host metabolism and immunity. The speaker challenged the idea that bacterial products are only harmful inflammatory triggers. Instead, different bacterial molecules can have opposite effects on blood glucose and immune responses.<br /><br />Key examples included LPS and peptidoglycan fragments, where the structure and source of the molecule determine whether they promote insulin resistance or improve glucose control. The speaker also described a “bacterial-like vaccine” made from mixed postbiotics that produced long-lasting blood glucose lowering in mice through immune and adaptive responses.<br /><br />A major theme was bacterial D-lactate, which the lab proposes as a microbially derived fuel and signaling molecule. Using germ-free mice, isotope tracing, and synthetic polymers that trap D-lactate in the gut, the team showed that gut microbes supply D-lactate to the liver, where it can affect glucose production, insulin levels, and liver disease. Blocking D-lactate reduced fasting glucose, inflammation, and fibrosis in a mouse model of steatohepatitis.<br /><br />The speaker concluded that postbiotics may act through immune, metabolic, and endocrine pathways, and that future work will clarify how L- and D-lactate differently shape immune cell behavior.

Meta Tag

Date April 17, 2026 10:09 AM - 10:42 AM

Room Ballroom

Session Major Symposium D: Obesity, Environment, and Immunity, Sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company

Speaker Jonathan Schertzer

Track Cellular Adhesion, Migration, and Inflammation (CAM)

Year 2026

Keywords

postbiotics

D-lactate

blood glucose

immune response

insulin resistance

gut microbiome

steatohepatitis

April 17, 2026 10:09 AM - 10:42 AM

Ballroom

Major Symposium D: Obesity, Environment, and Immunity, Sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company

Jonathan Schertzer

Cellular Adhesion, Migration, and Inflammation (CAM)

2026