Project description:Metabolism of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells is emerging as an important area to improve CAR-T cell therapy in cancer treatment. Mitochondrial respiration is essential for survival and function of CAR-T cells, but developing strategies to specifically enhance mitochondrial respiration has been challenging. Here we identify MCJ/DnaJC15, an endogenous negative regulator of mitochondrial Complex I, as a metabolic target to enhance mitochondrial respiration in CD8 CAR-T cells. Loss of MCJ in CD8 CAR-T cells increases their in vitro and in vivo efficacy against mouse B cell leukemias. MCJ deficiency in TCR- specific CD8 cells also increases their efficacy against solid tumors in vivo. Furthermore, we reveal that human CD8 cells express MCJ and that silencing MCJ expression increases mitochondrial metabolism and anti-tumor activity of human CAR-T cells. Thus, we demonstrate the unique therapeutic potential of targeting MCJ to enhance the metabolism and efficacy of adoptive T cell therapies.
Project description:Metabolic reprogramming is an active regulator of stem cell fate choices, and successful stem cell differentiation in different compartments requires the induction of oxidative phosphorylation. However, the mechanisms that promote mitochondrial respiration during stem cell differentiation are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that Stat3 promotes muscle stem cell myogenic lineage progression by stimulating mitochondrial respiration. We identify Fam3a, a cytokine-like protein, as a major Stat3 downstream effector in muscle stem cells. We demonstrate that Fam3a is required for muscle stem cell commitment and skeletal muscle development. We show that myogenic cells secrete Fam3a, and exposure of Stat3-ablated muscle stem cells to recombinant Fam3a in vitro and in vivo rescues their defects in mitochondrial respiration and myogenic commitment. Together, these findings indicate that Fam3a is a Stat3-regulated secreted factor that promotes muscle stem cell oxidative metabolism and differentiation, and suggests that Fam3a is a potential tool to modulate cell fate choices.
Project description:For placental mammals, the transition from the in utero maternal environment to postnatal life requires the activation of thermogenesis to maintain their core temperature. This is primarily accomplished by induction of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in brown and beige adipocytes, the principal sites for uncoupled respiration. Despite its importance, how placental mammals license their thermogenic adipocytes to participate in postnatal uncoupled respiration is not known. Here, we provide evidence that the 'alarmin' IL-33, a nuclear cytokine that activates type 2 immune responses, licenses brown and beige adipocytes for uncoupled respiration. We find that, in absence of IL-33 or ST2, beige and brown adipocytes develop normally but fail to express an appropriately spliced form of Ucp1 mRNA, resulting in absence of UCP1 protein, and impairment in uncoupled respiration and thermoregulation. Together, these data suggest that IL-33 and ST2 function as a developmental switch to license thermogenesis during the perinatal period.
Project description:diDO-IPTL proteomics data of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough wild type and two DsrC point mutants (IPFG07 & IPFG09) under sulfate-reducing (respiration) and fermentative growth (late-exponential phase)
