The immune system relies on specialized “effector” T cells to fight off pathogens. However, in chronic infections such as cancer or HIV, the perpe

Novel Link Between Cell Nutrition and Identity Could Improve Immunotherapies

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2024-12-12 20:30:02

The immune system relies on specialized “effector” T cells to fight off pathogens. However, in chronic infections such as cancer or HIV, the perpetual activation of these cells can turn them into “exhausted” T cells unable to continue fighting. Scientists have long wondered if and how nutrient preference impacts cell identity. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute and collaborators have discovered that a nutritional switch from acetate to citrate plays a key role in determining T cell fates, shifting them from active effector cells to exhausted cells.

The findings are published in Science in an article titled, “Nutrient-driven histone code determines exhausted CD8+ T cell fates,” and may lead to new therapies that target these nutrient-dependent mechanisms to help T cells stay active and energetically optimized against chronic diseases.

The discovery that different nutrients can change a cell’s gene expression, function, and identity significantly advances scientists’ understanding of the relationship between nutrition and cellular health throughout the body.