Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is normally present at thousands of copies per cell and is packaged into several hundred higher-order structures termed nucleoids1. The abundant mtDNA-binding protein, transcription factor A mitochondrial (TFAM), regulates nucleoid architecture, abundance, and segregation2. Complete mtDNA depletion profoundly impairs oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), triggering calcium-dependent stress signaling and adaptive metabolic responses3. However, the cellular responses to mtDNA instability, a physiologically relevant stress observed in many human diseases and aging, remain ill-defined4. Here we show that moderate mtDNA stress elicited by TFAM deficiency engages cytosolic antiviral signaling to enhance the expression of a subset of interferon-stimulated genes (ISG). Mechanistically, we have found that aberrant mtDNA packaging promotes escape of mtDNA into the cytosol, where it engages the DNA sensor cGAS and promotes STING-IRF3-dependent signaling to elevate ISG expression, potentiate type I interferon responses, and confer broad viral resistance. Furthermore, we demonstrate that herpesviruses induce mtDNA stress, which potentiates antiviral signaling and type I interferon responses during infection. Our results further demonstrate that mitochondria are central participants in innate immunity, identify mtDNA stress as a cell-intrinsic trigger of antiviral signaling, and suggest that cellular monitoring of mtDNA homeostasis cooperates with canonical virus sensing mechanisms to fully license antiviral innate immunity.

SUMMARY Activated T cells engage aerobic glycolysis and anabolic metabolism for growth, proliferation, and effector functions. We propose that a glucose-poor tumor microenvironment limits aerobic glycolysis in tumor-infiltrating T cells, which suppresses tumoricidal effector functions. We discovered a new role for the glycolytic metabolite phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) in sustaining T cell receptor-mediated Ca2+-NFAT signaling and effector functions by repressing sarco/ER Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) activity. Tumor-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells could be metabolically reprogrammed by increasing PEP production through overexpression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 (PCK1), which bolstered effector functions. Moreover, PCK1-overexpressing T cells restricted tumor growth and prolonged the survival of melanoma-bearing mice. This study uncovers new metabolic checkpoints for T cell activity and demonstrates that metabolic reprogramming of tumor-reactive T cells can enhance anti-tumor T cell responses, illuminating new forms of immunotherapy.

Regulation of metabolic pathways in the immune system provides a mechanism to actively control cellular function, growth, proliferation and survival. Here, we report that miR-181 is a non-redundant determinant of cellular metabolism and is essential to support the biosynthetic demands of early NKT cell development. As a result, miR-181-deficient mice showed a complete absence of mature NKT cells in the thymus and periphery. Mechanistically, miR-181 modulated expression of the phosphatase PTEN to control PI3K signaling, which was a primary stimulus for anabolic metabolism in immune cells. Thus miR-181-deficient mice also showed severe defects in lymphoid development and T cell homeostasis associated with impaired PI3K signaling. These results uncover miR-181 as essential for NKT cell development, and establish this family of miRNAs as central regulators of PI3K signaling and global metabolic fitness during development and homeostasis.

Summary Protein kinase B (a.k.a. AKT) and the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) are central regulators of T cell differentiation, proliferation, metabolism and survival. Here, we show that during chronic murine lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection, activation of AKT and mTOR are impaired in antiviral cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), resulting in enhanced activity of the transcription factor FoxO1. Blockade of inhibitory receptor programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) in vivo increased mTOR activity in virus-specific CTLs, and its therapeutic effects were abrogated by the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. FoxO1 functioned as a transcriptional activator of PD-1 that promoted the differentiation of terminally exhausted CTLs. Importantly, FoxO1 null CTLs failed to persist and control chronic viral infection. Collectively, this study identifies that CTLs adapt to persistent infection through a positive feedback pathway (PD-1→FoxO1→PD-1) that functions to both desensitize virus-specific CTLs to antigen and to support their survival during chronic viral infection.

Summary The differentiation of CD4+ helper T cell subsets with diverse effector functions is accompanied by changes in metabolism required to meet their bioenergetic demands. We find follicular B helper T (Tfh) cells exhibited less proliferation, glycolysis, and mitochondrial respiration, accompanied by reduced mTOR kinase activity compared to T helper 1 (Th1) cells in response to acute viral infection. IL-2-mediated activation of the Akt kinase and mTORc1 signaling was both necessary and sufficient to shift differentiation away from Tfh cells, instead promoting that of Th1 cells. These findings were not the result of generalized signaling attenuation in Tfh cells, as they retained the ability to flux calcium and activate NFAT transcription factor-dependent cytokine production. These data identify the interleukin-2 (IL-2)-mTORc1 axis as a critical orchestrator of the reciprocal balance between Tfh and Th1 cell fates and their respective metabolic activities following acute viral infection.