Calcium regulation of T cell metabolism

T cells are an essential component of the immune system that provide antigen-specific acute and long lasting immune responses to infections and tumors, ascertain the maintenance of immunological tolerance and, on the flipside, mediate autoimmunity in a variety of diseases. The activation of T cells through antigen recognition by the T cell receptor (TCR) results in transient and sustained Ca(2+) signals that are shaped by the opening of Ca(2+) channels in the plasma membrane and cellular organelles. The dynamic regulation of intracellular Ca(2+) concentrations controls a variety of T cell functions on the timescale of seconds to days after signal initiation. Among the more recently identified roles of Ca(2+) signaling in T cells is the regulation of metabolic pathways that control the function of many T cell subsets. In this review, we discuss how Ca(2+) regulates several metabolic programs in T cells such as the activation of AMPK and the PI3K-AKT-mTORC1 pathway, aerobic glycolysis, mitochondrial metabolism including tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle function and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), as well as lipid metabolism.