Trends in Cell Biology
Volume 33, Issue 2, February 2023, Pages 138-147
Journal home page for Trends in Cell Biology

Review
Arming a killer: mitochondrial regulation of CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcb.2022.05.007Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Mitochondria play multiple roles beyond oxidative phosphorylation, contributing to calcium buffering, production of reactive oxygen species, and transcription in T cells.

  • A new role for mitochondria as homeostatic regulators of cytotoxicity has recently emerged.

  • How mitochondrial and cytosolic protein synthesis is synchronised has generated exciting recent research, highlighting a number of mechanisms.

  • Understanding how these mechanisms contribute to immune cell function remains to be understood.

While once regarded as ATP factories, mitochondria have taken the spotlight as important regulators of cellular homeostasis. The past two decades have witnessed an intensifying interest in the study of mitochondria in cells of the immune system, with many new and unexpected roles for mitochondria emerging. Immune cells offer intriguing insights as mitochondria appear to play different roles at different stages of T cell development, matching the changing functions of the cells. Here we briefly review the multifaceted roles of mitochondria during T cell differentiation, focusing on CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and we consider how mitochondrial dysfunction can contribute to CTL exhaustion. In addition, we highlight a newly appreciated role for mitochondria as homeostatic regulators of CTL-mediated killing and explore the emerging literature describing mechanisms linking cytosolic and mitochondrial protein synthesis.

Keywords

T cell
CTL
CD8
exhaustion
mitochondria
mitochondrial translation

Cited by (0)

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Present address: Department of Immunobiology, University of Lausanne, Epalinges 1066, Switzerland

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Laboratory website: https://www.griffiths-lab.com/

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Twitter: @miriamlisci (M. Lisci), @griffiths_lab (G.M. Griffiths).