Appetite for destruction: dietary lipids tune the ferroptotic threshold of adaptive immunity

Dietary lipids tune the ferroptosis checkpoint in T cells. PUFA-rich diets promote incorporation of oxidizable PUFAs into T-cell membranes, increasing lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis sensitivity. In contrast, MUFA-rich diets favor incorporation of monounsaturated fatty acids that reduce lipid peroxidation and confer ferroptosis resistance. This lipid-dependent balance establishes a ferroptosis checkpoint that regulates T-cell survival and shapes adaptive immune responses, including vaccine efficacy, anti-tumor immunity, CAR-T-cell therapy and immune homeostasis. Created in BioRender. Morgan, P. (2026) https://BioRender.com/k2i6z6b.