Metabolism, migration and memory in cytotoxic T cells

D Finlay, DA Cantrell - Nature Reviews Immunology, 2011 - nature.com
Nature Reviews Immunology, 2011nature.com
The transcriptional and metabolic programmes that control CD8+ T cells are regulated by a
diverse network of serine/threonine kinases. The view has been that the kinases AKT and
mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) control T cell metabolism. Here, we challenge this
paradigm and discuss an alternative role for these kinases in CD8+ T cells, namely to
control cell migration. Another emerging concept is that AMP-activated protein kinase
(AMPK) family members control T cell metabolism and determine the effector versus memory …
Abstract
The transcriptional and metabolic programmes that control CD8+ T cells are regulated by a diverse network of serine/threonine kinases. The view has been that the kinases AKT and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) control T cell metabolism. Here, we challenge this paradigm and discuss an alternative role for these kinases in CD8+ T cells, namely to control cell migration. Another emerging concept is that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) family members control T cell metabolism and determine the effector versus memory fate of CD8+ T cells. We speculate that one link between metabolism and immunological memory is provided by kinases that originally evolved to control T cell metabolism and have subsequently acquired the ability to control the expression of key transcription factors that regulate CD8+ T cell effector function and migratory capacity.
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