Differential Reliance on Lipid Metabolism as a Salvage Pathway Underlies Functional Differences of T Cell Subsets in Poor Nutrient Environments.

T cells compete with malignant cells for limited nutrients within the solid tumor microenvironment. We found that effector memory CD4 T cells respond distinctly from other T cell subsets to limiting glucose and can maintain high levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production in a nutrient-poor environment. Unlike naive (T) or central memory T (T) cells, effector memory T (T) cells fail to upregulate fatty acid synthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and reductive glutaminolysis in limiting glucose.