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Metabolic checkpoints in activated T cells

Nature Immunology volume 13, pages 907–915 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

The immunological process of clonal selection requires a rapid burst in lymphocyte proliferation, and this involves a metabolic shift to provide energy and the building blocks of new cells. After activation, naive and memory T cells switch from the oxidation of free fatty acids to glycolysis and glutaminolysis to meet these demands. Beyond this, however, the availability of specific metabolites and the pathways that process them interconnect with signaling events in the cell to influence cell cycle, differentiation, cell death and immunological function. Here we define 'metabolic checkpoints' that represent such interconnections and provide examples of how these checkpoints sense metabolic status and transduce signals to affect T lymphocyte responses.

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Figure 1: T cell metabolic reprogramming.
Figure 2: Metabolic checkpoints in T cell function.

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Acknowledgements

We thank H. Chi and L. Shi for discussions. Supported by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (George J. Mitchell fellowship to R.W.), the US National Institutes of Health (AI40646 and GM52735 to D.R.G.) and the American Lebanese and Syrian Associated Charities.

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  1. Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

    Ruoning Wang & Douglas R Green

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  1. Ruoning Wang
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Correspondence to Ruoning Wang or Douglas R Green.

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Wang, R., Green, D. Metabolic checkpoints in activated T cells. Nat Immunol 13, 907–915 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2386

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