Regulatory T Cell Migration Is Dependent on Glucokinase-Mediated Glycolysis

Madhav Kishore, Kenneth C.P. Cheung, Hongmei Fu, Fabrizia Bonacina, Guosu Wang, David Coe, Eleanor J. Ward, Alessandra Colamatteo, Maryam Jangani, Andrea Baragetti, Giuseppe Matarese, David M. Smith, Robert Haas, Claudio Mauro, David C. Wraith, Klaus Okkenhaug, Alberico L. Catapano, Veronica De Rosa, Giuseppe D. Norata, Federica M. Marelli-Berg*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

174 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Migration of activated regulatory T (Treg) cells to inflamed tissue is crucial for their immune-modulatory function. While metabolic reprogramming during Treg cell differentiation has been extensively studied, the bioenergetics of Treg cell trafficking remains undefined. We have investigated the metabolic demands of migrating Treg cells in vitro and in vivo. We show that glycolysis was instrumental for their migration and was initiated by pro-migratory stimuli via a PI3K-mTORC2-mediated pathway culminating in induction of the enzyme glucokinase (GCK). Subsequently, GCK promoted cytoskeletal rearrangements by associating with actin. Treg cells lacking this pathway were functionally suppressive but failed to migrate to skin allografts and inhibit rejection. Similarly, human carriers of a loss-of-function GCK regulatory protein gene—leading to increased GCK activity—had reduced numbers of circulating Treg cells. These cells displayed enhanced migratory activity but similar suppressive function, while conventional T cells were unaffected. Thus, GCK-dependent glycolysis regulates Treg cell migration.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)875-889.e10
Number of pages25
JournalImmunity
Volume47
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Nov 2017

User-Defined Keywords

  • regulatory T cells
  • metabolism
  • migration
  • mTOR
  • CD28
  • CTLA-4

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