Fig. 1. AMPK regulates metabolic fitness of T cells in resting state. Naive T cells exert elevated AMPK activity to utilized fatty acid oxidation (FAO) for their survival. Upon antigen stimulation through interacting with antigen-presenting cells (APC), naive T cells undergo metabolic reprogramming to support the generation of effector T cells, transforming their energy metabolism to glycolysis (mTOR), the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), and the glutaminolytic pathway. When they enter memory status, AMPK activity re-emerges to reduce mTOR, followed by a metabolic shift towards oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and FAO. Moreover, the impacts of mTOR and AMPK vary among the subsets of CD4+ T cells. mTORC1 and mTORC2 enhances the differentiation and function of Th1/Th17 and Th2, respectively, whereas AMPK facilitate the differentiation, stability, and function of Treg cells. The figure is created with BioRender.com.
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