Fig. 1

The metabolic profile of activated, effector and memory T cells. CD8⁺ T_mem cell and T_reg cell rely on FAO and OXPHOS for survival and to support function. In addition, T_mem cells acquire glycerol by AQP9 for triglyceride synthesis and then promote T_mem cell proliferation and survival (left panel). In right panel, activated effector T cells (Effect T cells, CD8⁺T_eff cell and CD4⁺T_h cells) use aerobic glycolysis and FAS for proliferation. In activated effector T cell, most pyruvate become lactate and minority of pyruvate enters TCA cycle. However, PPP yields both nucleotide and NADPH for FAS. Glutaminolysis is also important for supplement of TCA cycle intermediates for biosynthesis