Metabolic Signaling in T Cells
Overview
Affiliations
The maintenance of organismal homeostasis requires partitioning and transport of biochemical molecules between organ systems, their composite cells, and subcellular organelles. Although transcriptional programming undeniably defines the functional state of cells and tissues, underlying biochemical networks are intricately intertwined with transcriptional, translational, and post-translational regulation. Studies of the metabolic regulation of immunity have elegantly illustrated this phenomenon. The cells of the immune system interface with a diverse set of environmental conditions. Circulating immune cells perfuse peripheral organs in the blood and lymph, patrolling for pathogen invasion. Resident immune cells remain in tissues and play more newly appreciated roles in tissue homeostasis and immunity. Each of these cell populations interacts with unique and dynamic tissue environments, which vary greatly in biochemical composition. Furthermore, the effector response of immune cells to a diverse set of activating cues requires unique cellular adaptations to supply the requisite biochemical landscape. In this review, we examine the role of spatial partitioning of metabolic processes in immune function. We focus on studies of lymphocyte metabolism, with reference to the greater immunometabolism literature when appropriate to illustrate this concept.
Metabolic Signaling as a Driver of T Cell Aging.
Choi M, Choi S, Cho M, Kim C Immune Netw. 2025; 25(1):e14.
PMID: 40078788 PMC: 11896665. DOI: 10.4110/in.2025.25.e14.
Lysosomal NKG7 restrains mTORC1 activity to promote CD8 T cell durability and tumor control.
Ham H, Hirdler J, Bihnam D, Mao Z, Gicobi J, Macedo B Nat Commun. 2025; 16(1):1628.
PMID: 39952956 PMC: 11829009. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56931-6.
T Cell Resistance: On the Mechanisms of T Cell Non-activation.
Beckers D, Jainarayanan A, Dustin M, Capera J Immune Netw. 2025; 24(6):e42.
PMID: 39801736 PMC: 11711127. DOI: 10.4110/in.2024.24.e42.
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Associated Cutaneous Adverse Events: Mechanisms of Occurrence.
Eshaq A, Flanagan T, Ba Abbad A, Makarem Z, Bokir M, Alasheq A Int J Mol Sci. 2025; 26(1.
PMID: 39795946 PMC: 11719825. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26010088.
ATLAS-seq: a microfluidic single-cell TCR screen for antigen-reactive TCRs.
Luo S, Notaro A, Lin L Nat Commun. 2025; 16(1):216.
PMID: 39746936 PMC: 11696065. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54675-3.