T cell exhaustion is an evocative concept that results in attenuated function in the face of chronic antigen exposure and is critical to avoid immunopathology. However, tumors often exploit this dampened T cell function to escape the antitumor immune response. In this issue of the JCI, You et al. investigated a different aspect of T cell exhaustion in the setting of tumor immunity by characterizing the capacity of T cells for tireless migration. The dynamic nature of normal T cells was first made famous by intravital microscopy studies in explanted tissues. You et al. used a similar imaging strategy with reanimated human tumors, in which exhausted T cells displayed an enhanced capacity for intratumoral motility. These results suggest that exhausted T cells may be able to teach T cell engineers lessons about navigating within the tumor microenvironment.

T 细胞耗竭是一个令人回味的概念，它在面对慢性抗原暴露时导致功能减弱，并且对于避免免疫病理学至关重要。然而，肿瘤经常利用这种减弱的 T 细胞功能来逃避抗肿瘤免疫反应。在本期 JCI 中，You 等人。通过表征 T 细胞不知疲倦地迁移的能力，研究了肿瘤免疫环境中 T 细胞耗竭的不同方面。正常 T 细胞的动态特性首先通过移植组织中的活体显微镜研究而闻名。你等人。对复活的人类肿瘤使用了类似的成像策略，其中耗尽的 T 细胞显示出增强的肿瘤内运动能力。