AUTHOR=Molon Barbara , Calì Bianca , Viola Antonella 

TITLE=T Cells and Cancer: How Metabolism Shapes Immunity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2016

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2016.00020

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2016.00020

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Tumour microenvironment is characterized by a consistent reduction in oxygen and blood-borne nutrients that significantly affects the metabolism of distinct cell subsets. Immune cells populating malignant lesions need to activate alternative pathways to overcome tumour-prolonged nutrient deprivation.  In particular, the metabolic switch occurring in transforming tissues dramatically impacts on tumour-infiltrating T cell biology. Remarkably, the recruitment and activation of T cell within cancers are instrumental for effective anti-tumour response.  Therefore, T cell metabolic adaptation acts as crucial checkpoint hijacked by tumours to dampen anti-tumour immunity.