L-Arginine Modulates T Cell Metabolism and Enhances Survival and Anti-tumor Activity


Date

2016-10-20

Publication Type

Journal Article

ETH Bibliography

yes

Citations

Altmetric

Data

Abstract

Metabolic activity is intimately linked to T cell fate and function. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry, we generated dynamic metabolome and proteome profiles of human primary naive T cells following activation. We discovered critical changes in the arginine metabolism that led to a drop in intracellular L-arginine concentration. Elevating L-arginine levels induced global metabolic changes including a shift from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation in activated T cells and promoted the generation of central memory-like cells endowed with higher survival capacity and, in a mouse model, anti-tumor activity. Proteome-wide probing of structural alterations, validated by the analysis of knockout T cell clones, identified three transcriptional regulators (BAZ1B, PSIP1, and TSN) that sensed L-arginine levels and promoted T cell survival. Thus, intracellular L-arginine concentrations directly impact the metabolic fitness and survival capacity of T cells that are crucial for anti-tumor responses.

Publication status

published

Editor

Book title

Journal / series

Volume

167 (3)

Pages / Article No.

829 - 8420000000000000

Publisher

Cell Press

Event

Edition / version

Methods

Software

Geographic location

Date collected

Date created

Subject

Cancer immunotherapy; L-arginine; LiP-MS; Metabolism; Metabolite sensing; Metabolome; Proteome; T cell; T cell survival

Organisational unit

03713 - Sauer, Uwe / Sauer, Uwe check_circle
03927 - Picotti, Paola / Picotti, Paola check_circle
03856 - Lanzavecchia, Antonio (emeritus) check_circle
08839 - Zamboni, Nicola (Tit.-Prof.) check_circle

Notes

Funding

Related publications and datasets