CD8⁺ T cells are central players in controlling infections and cancer. Longevity, functionality, and metabolic fitness are critical determinants of T cell efficacy in cancer immunotherapy. Tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells undergo metabolic ‘exhaustion’ in the nutrient- and oxygen-deprived tumor microenvironment (TME). Thus, reprograming CD8⁺ T cell metabolism may provide important therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment. Indeed, the adoptive transfer of memory CD8⁺ T cells with sustained metabolic fitness may yield better antitumor protection in both mouse models and the clinic. Here, we discuss recent progress on how cellular metabolism is linked to CD8⁺ T cell fate decisions and on how metabolic intermediates can impact gene expression via modulation of the epigenome. We examine the feasibility of developing potential strategies to improve antitumor immunity through the modulation of T cell metabolic activity.

CD8 ⁺ T细胞是控制感染和癌症的关键因素。寿命，功能和代谢适应性是癌症免疫疗法中T细胞功效的关键决定因素。肿瘤浸润的CD8 ⁺ T细胞在营养缺乏和缺氧的肿瘤微环境（TME）中经历代谢“耗竭”。因此，重新编程CD8 ⁺ T细胞代谢可能为癌症治疗提供重要的治疗策略。确实，具有持续代谢适应性的记忆CD8 ⁺ T细胞的过继转移可能在小鼠模型和临床中都产生更好的抗肿瘤保护作用。在这里，我们讨论了细胞代谢如何与CD8 ⁺相关联的最新进展T细胞命运的决定以及代谢中间体如何通过表观基因组的调控影响基因表达。我们研究了开发潜在策略以通过调节T细胞代谢活性来提高抗肿瘤免疫力的可行性。