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Updated: Jan 17, 2026

Real-time Monitoring of Mitochondrial Respiration in Cytokine-differentiated Human Primary T Cells
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Optimizing mitochondria function in immune cells: implications for cancer immunotherapy

Huiyu Li1, Wenyi Jin2, Junhong Liu3

  • 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Trends in Cancer
|September 17, 2025
PubMed

The tumor microenvironment (TME) imposes profound metabolic and functional constraints on immune cells, with mitochondrial dysfunction emerging as a pivotal driver of immunosuppression. While mitochondrial metabolism is well recognized for its role in energy production and cellular homeostasis, its dynamic regulation of immune cell activation, differentiation, and exhaustion within the TME remains underexplored. In this review we summarize insights into how TME stressors such as hypoxia, nutrient competition, and metabolic byproducts subvert mitochondrial dynamics, redox balance, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) signaling in T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and macrophages, thereby directly impairing their antitumor efficacy. We emphasize that the restoration of mitochondrial fitness in immune cells, achieved by targeting metabolites in the TME and mitochondrial quality control, represents a pivotal axis for adoptive cell therapies (ACTs) and TME reprogramming.

Keywords:
ROSchimeric antigen receptor (CAR)metabolismmitochondriatumor immunotherapy

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