Zahala Bar-On

Abstract T cell activation demands robust ATP and NAD+ supply, which often outpaces oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) capacity. To understand how T cells overcome this, we limited mitochondrial ATP transfer in T-cell-specific ADP/ATP translocase-2 knockout (Ant2-/-) mice. Unexpectedly, these naive T cells showed heightened activation, proliferation, increased IFNγ production and cytotoxicity.

Abstract T cells often encounter oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) insufficiency upon activation, due to increased demands for ATP and NAD+ to fuel anabolic reactions. To explore how T cells overcome this insufficiency, we indirectly restricted OXPHOS by limiting mitochondrial ATP transfer to the cytosol using a T-cell-specific ADP/ATP translocase-2 knockout (Ant2-/-) mouse.