Stress-Mediated Attenuation of Translation Undermines T Cell Tumor Control

Abstract

Protein synthesis enables cell growth and survival, but the molecular mechanisms through which T cells suppress or maintain protein translation in the stress of solid tumors are unknown. Using mouse models and human tumors we demonstrate that protein translation in T cells is repressed by the solid tumor microenvironment (TME) due to activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) via phosphorylation of the subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (p-eIF2). Given that acute glucose deprivation in T cells exacerbated p-eIF2, we show that metabolic reprogramming toward glycolytic independence allays the UPR and p-eIF2, enabling sustained protein translation in T cells in TME stress. UPR mitigation was associated with enhanced degradation of proteins in antitumor T cells, as proteasome inhibition resulted in eIF2 phosphorylation, attenuation of translation, and loss of antitumor efficacy. In contrast, proteasome stimulation relieved translation inhibition, inducing robust T cell tumor control, offering a new therapeutic avenue to fuel the efficacy of tumor immunotherapy.