AUTHOR=Pan Youdong , Kupper Thomas S. 

TITLE=Metabolic Reprogramming and Longevity of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01347

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2018.01347

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Tissue-resident memory T cells (T<sub>RM</sub>) persist in peripheral tissues for long periods of time in the absence of antigenic stimulation. Upon re-encounter with cognate antigen, T<sub>RM</sub> trigger an immediate immune response at the local tissue microenvironment and provide the first line of host defense. T<sub>RM</sub> have been reported to play significant roles in host antimicrobial infection, cancer immunotherapy, and pathogenesis of a number of human autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis, vitiligo, and atopic dermatitis. T<sub>RM</sub> display a distinct gene transcriptome with unique gene expression profiles related to cellular metabolism that is different from naive T cells (T<sub>N</sub>), central memory T cells (T<sub>CM</sub>), and effector memory T cells (T<sub>EM</sub>). Skin CD8<sup>+</sup> T<sub>RM</sub> upregulate expression of genes associated with lipid uptake and metabolism and utilize mitochondria fatty acid β-oxidation to support their long-term survival (longevity) and function. In this review, we will summarize the recent progresses in the metabolic programming of T<sub>RM</sub> and will also discuss the potential to target the unique metabolic pathways of T<sub>RM</sub> to treat T<sub>RM</sub>-mediated diseases.</p>