Grant: Operating Grant

T lymphocytes, or T cells, are the "soldiers" of the immune system; they function primarily at the front lines of infection to identify and clear infected cells or eliminate pathogens and protect the host from infection. The ability of T cells to successfully respond to an infection depends on the T cell having enough energy and building blocks to complete the task. To meet these demands T cells display fundamental changes in their metabolism - the biochemical processes cells use to generate energy - to allow them to grow and divide and ultimately defeat foreign invaders. Our previous work has established that T cell function is very sensitive to changes in their metabolism. As T cells differentiate during an immune response they move from lymphoid organs to sites of infection or inflammation, where oxygen, nutrients, and growth factors may become limiting. Our hypothesis is that T cells actively adapt their metabolism during immune responses to maintain their function and promote immunity to pathogens. This proposal uses in vitro and in vivo experimental systems to study how cellular metabolism influences T cell function to ensure proper immune function. Ultimately we would like to determine whether manipulating T cell metabolism could be a suitable therapeutic avenue for the treatment of inflammation, autoimmune disease, or transplant rejection.