Autophagy enforces functional integrity of regulatory T cells by coupling environmental cues and metabolic homeostasis

Nature Immunology
Jun WeiHongbo Chi

Abstract

Regulatory T (Treg) cells respond to immune and inflammatory signals to mediate immunosuppression, but how the functional integrity of Treg cells is maintained under activating environments is unclear. Here we show that autophagy is active in Treg cells and supports their lineage stability and survival fitness. Treg cell-specific deletion of Atg7 or Atg5, two essential genes in autophagy, leads to loss of Treg cells, greater tumor resistance and development of inflammatory disorders. Atg7-deficient Treg cells show increased apoptosis and readily lose expression of the transcription factor Foxp3, especially after activation. Mechanistically, autophagy deficiency upregulates metabolic regulators mTORC1 and c-Myc and glycolysis, which contribute to defective Treg function. Therefore, autophagy couples environmental signals and metabolic homeostasis to protect lineage and survival integrity of Treg cells in activating contexts.

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
flow cytometry
transgenic
PMA
density-gradient centrifugation
PCR

Software Mentioned

Prism
Flowjo
Slidebook
Partek Genomics Suite

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