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PIM1 kinase-regulated cellular metabolism sustains differentiation and function of effector CD8+ T cells during chronic viral infection

delete2026-04-01
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PRE
AI
N
Niu, Hongshen
J
Jian Shen
V
Vaz de Castro, Pedro A. S.
K
Kasmani, Moujtaba Y.
S
Siying Lin
T
Topchyan, Paytsar
C
Cui, Weiguo
DOI:10.1093/jimmun/vkag062delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
CD8+ T-cell differentiation during chronic viral infection is supported by metabolic reprogramming to meet distinct bioenergetic demands. Early effector CD8+ T-cell differentiation and function are supported by the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway, while the differentiation of late exhausted CD8+ T cells remains incompletely understood. We first characterized the metabolic heterogeneity of the progenitor, effector, and exhausted CD8+ T-cell subsets in chronic infection by utilizing the Compass algorithm, which provides metabolic state predictions based on single-cell RNA sequencing data and flux-based analysis. Our analysis revealed metabolic programs distinct to each subset of virus-specific CD8+ T cells. In addition, it is known that the differentiation of progenitor to effector CD8+ T cells depends on IL-21-producing CD4+ T cells. We found that PIM1 kinase, a known regulator of cellular energy metabolism that functions downstream of IL-21 signaling, displays high gene expression in the effector CD8 T-cell subset. Using the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus clone 13 model of chronic viral infection, we showed that CD8+ T cell-specific deletion of PIM1 kinase impairs the differentiation and cytolytic function of late effector CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, deficiency in PIM1 kinase reduced oxidative and glycolytic metabolism, potentially contributing to the diminished effector differentiation and function. Overall, these data reveal not only the metabolic heterogeneity of exhausted CD8+ T cells, but also how metabolic regulation through the IL-21-PIM1 axis impacts CD8+ T-cell differentiation.
Keywords:
CD8 T cells
metabolism
PIM kinase
viral infection

Journal

Journal of Immunology cover
Journal of Immunology
IF:
3.4
Papers:
3.7W
Citations:
9.9W

Organization

M
medical college of wisconsin
Scholars:
1.7W
Papers: 1.2W
Citations: 9
N
Northwestern University
Scholars:
6.1W
Papers: 5.2W
Citations: 3.9K
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