Impact of mitochondrial signaling and metabolic pathways on dendritic cell-mediated adaptive immunity

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Adaptive immunity is achieved by the concerted action of specialized immune cells including dendritic cells and T lymphocytes. Following their activation, both types of cells undergo major cell-type-specific phenotypic and functional changes, which involve profound adjustments in cellular metabolism. Presently, it remains a major challenge to understand how metabolic pathways impact immune cell function. Mitochondria are central to metabolism as they provide the energy and metabolites required for basal and highly-specific cellular processes. Yet, how cells of the adaptive immune system evaluate, maintain and adjust mitochondrial function in response to activating stimuli and pathogens is largely unknown. In this project, we will investigate how mitochondrial signaling components and metabolic adaptations contribute to dendritic cell and T cell function and plasticity. We foresee that the proposed studies may reveal novel approaches in immunotherapy design and may provide evidence for the rational design of drugs and therapies against mitochondrial disease.