Immunometabolism of T cell function in infection, cancer, and vaccination

T cells represent a cornerstone of adaptive immunity, and recent advances in immunometabolism have revealed that metabolic circuits are not merely passive energy sources but active signals determining immune cell fate and function. Mitochondrial fitness, glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation, and amino acid metabolism collectively define how T cells proliferate, differentiate, and maintain effector or memory states. The metabolic heterogeneity across T cell subsets—effector, regulatory, memory, and exhausted—reflects a complex adaptation to microenvironmental cues such as nutrient availability, oxygen tension, and inflammatory mediators. In infection and cancer, persistent antigen exposure or nutrient competition can drive metabolic exhaustion, thereby limiting immune surveillance and therapeutic efficacy. Conversely, the generation of long-lived vaccine-induced memory T cells demands precise metabolic reprogramming, a topic still insufficiently understood. Despite major conceptual and technological progress, key questions persist regarding how cellular energetic states are rewired under stress, how distinct metabolic pathways cross-regulate immunity, and how these can be therapeutically targeted for durable protection.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of the interplay between metabolism and T cell biology across infectious, malignant, and vaccination contexts. It seeks to bridge fundamental immunology with clinical translation by focusing on the metabolic checkpoints governing T cell differentiation, persistence, and dysfunction. The goal is to gather insights into mechanisms of metabolic adaptation during chronic infection and tumor progression, delineate the metabolic foundations of vaccine-induced immunity, and identify strategies that harness metabolic modulation to optimize immunotherapeutic and vaccination outcomes. By uniting research on nutrient signaling (e.g., mTOR, AMPK, HIF-1α), mitochondrial dynamics, and single-cell metabolic profiling, this topic aims to drive the next generation of discoveries linking metabolism to immunological memory and resilience.To gather further insights across this field while maintaining focus on T cell-specific immunometabolism, we welcome original and integrative contributions within the following thematic boundaries:o Metabolic regulation of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell activation, differentiation, and memory formationo Mitochondrial dynamics, oxidative phosphorylation, and bioenergetic control in T cell functiono Mechanisms of metabolic reprogramming underlying T cell exhaustion in chronic infection and tumorso Nutrient sensing pathways (mTOR, AMPK, HIF-1α) as regulators of T cell lineage and fateo Metabolic constraints imposed by the tumor microenvironment and approaches to alleviate suppressiono Crosstalk between T cell metabolism and other immune or stromal populationso Vaccine-induced metabolic imprinting and determinants of long-lived memory T cellso Effects of adjuvants and delivery platforms on T cell metabolic programmingo Therapeutic targeting of T cell metabolism in immunotherapy and vaccinologyo Systems-level and multi-omics tools for in vivo mapping of T cell metabolic statesPlease note that Dr. George William Carnell holds shares in DIOSynVax Ltd, is an inventor on patents held by DIOSynVax Ltd, and provides consulting services to DIOSynVax Ltd, limited to influenza and coronavirus vaccines. Topic editors: Shailendra Kumar Verma, Thomas Riffelmacher, George William Carnell Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81232/immunometabolism-of-t-cell-function-in-infection-cancer-and-vaccination