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Updated: May 14, 2026

Measuring Mitochondrial Function of Naïve and Effector CD8 T Cells
Published on: March 28, 2025
mTOR, linking metabolism and immunity
Xiaojin Xu1, Lilin Ye, Koichi Araki
1Emory Vaccine Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Abstract:
mTOR is an evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine kinase that plays a critical role in cell growth and metabolism by sensing different environmental cues. There is a growing appreciation of mTOR in immunology for its role in integrating diverse signals from the immune microenvironment and coordinating the functions of immune cells and their metabolism. In CD8 T cells, mTOR has shown to influence cellular commitment to effector versus memory programming; in CD4 T cells, mTOR integrates environmental cues that instruct effector cell differentiation. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent advances in the field, with a focus on the mechanisms through which mTOR regulates cellular and humoral immunity. Further understanding will enable the manipulation of mTOR signaling to direct the biological functions of immune cells, which holds great potential for improving immune therapies and vaccination against infections and cancer.
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