Editor's Summary
2 July 2009
T-cell memory linked to energy metabolism
CD8 T cells play a crucial role in immunity to infection and cancer. The predictable pattern of a CD8 T-cell response to infection is well established, but the underlying cellular mechanisms regulating the transition to memory remain undefined. Here, Pearce et al. show that metabolic conversion to catabolic pathways of energy generation is key to CD8 T-cell memory development in vivo. CD8 T cells switch from glucose metabolism to fatty acid metabolism as they differentiate into a 'memory' cell that can 'remember' past infections. The process is regulated by the tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated factor protein TRAF6.
News and Views: Immunology: A metabolic switch to memory
Two therapeutic drugs have been found to enhance memory in immune cells called T cells, apparently by altering cellular metabolism. Are changes in T-cell metabolism the key to generating long-lived immune memory?
Martin Prlic & Michael J. Bevan
doi:10.1038/460041a
Letter: Enhancing CD8 T-cell memory by modulating fatty acid metabolism
Erika L. Pearce, Matthew C. Walsh, Pedro J. Cejas, Gretchen M. Harms, Hao Shen, Li-San Wang, Russell G. Jones & Yongwon Choi
doi:10.1038/nature08097
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