AFF3 maintains metabolic quiescence in naive CD8 T cells and prevents premature immune aging

It is necessary for naive CD8 T cells to be actively maintained in a quiescent metabolic state in order to respond robustly to infection while avoiding inappropriate activation during homeostasis. With age, this quiescent state is lost and the CD8 T cell response to infection decreases. The factors regulating metabolic quiescence of CD8 T cells and how this regulation is lost during aging are not completely understood. Herein, we identify the transcription factor AFF3 as a regulator of metabolic quiescence in naive CD8 T cells. While naive AFF3-deficient CD8 T cells are more metabolically active prior to infection, they have reduced accumulation in response to viral infection, and this is correlated with a poor capacity to engage glycolysis. During aging in both murine and human CD8 T cells, AFF3 expression is decreased. In mice, this is associated with a loss of metabolic quiescence and reduced capacity to accumulate following infection. Our data highlight the role of metabolic regulation in CD8 T cell quiescence and identify a transcription factor that may be a target to reinvigorate CD8 T cell responses during aging.