Prostaglandin E2 controls the metabolic adaptation of T cells to the intestinal microenvironment

Abstract

Immune cells must adapt to different environments during the course of an immune response. We studied the adaptation of CD8+ T cells to the intestinal microenvironment and how this process shapes their residency in the gut. CD8+ T cells progressively remodel their transcriptome and surface phenotype as they acquire gut residency, and downregulate expression of mitochondrial genes. Human and mouse gut-resident CD8+ T cells have reduced mitochondrial mass, but maintain a viable energy balance to sustain their function. We found that the intestinal microenvironment is rich in prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which drives mitochondrial depolarization in CD8+ T cells. Consequently, these cells engage autophagy to clear depolarized mitochondria, and enhance glutathione synthesis to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) that result from mitochondrial depolarization. Impairing PGE2 sensing promotes CD8+ T cell accumulation in the gut, while tampering with autophagy and glutathione negatively impacts the T cell population. Thus, a PGE2-autophagy-glutathione axis defines the metabolic adaptation of CD8+ T cells to the intestinal microenvironment, to ultimately influence the T cell pool.