Spermidine activates mitochondrial trifunctional protein and improves antitumor immunity in mice

Science. 2022 Oct 28;378(6618):eabj3510. doi: 10.1126/science.abj3510. Epub 2022 Oct 28.

Abstract

Spermidine (SPD) delays age-related pathologies in various organisms. SPD supplementation overcame the impaired immunotherapy against tumors in aged mice by increasing mitochondrial function and activating CD8+ T cells. Treatment of naïve CD8+ T cells with SPD acutely enhanced fatty acid oxidation. SPD conjugated to beads bound to the mitochondrial trifunctional protein (MTP). In the MTP complex, synthesized and purified from Escherichia coli, SPD bound to the α and β subunits of MTP with strong affinity and allosterically enhanced their enzymatic activities. T cell-specific deletion of the MTP α subunit abolished enhancement of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade immunotherapy by SPD, indicating that MTP is required for SPD-dependent T cell activation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes* / immunology
  • Lymphocyte Activation
  • Mice
  • Mitochondria* / metabolism
  • Mitochondrial Trifunctional Protein, alpha Subunit* / metabolism
  • Mitochondrial Trifunctional Protein, beta Subunit* / metabolism
  • Neoplasms* / immunology
  • Spermidine* / metabolism
  • Spermidine* / pharmacology

Substances

  • Mitochondrial Trifunctional Protein, alpha Subunit
  • Mitochondrial Trifunctional Protein, beta Subunit
  • Spermidine