Inflammatory T Cell Responses Rely on Amino Acid Transporter ASCT2 Facilitation of Glutamine Uptake and mTORC1 Kinase Activation

Glutamine has been implicated as an immunomodulatory nutrient, but how glutamine uptake is mediated during T cell activation is poorly understood. We have shown that naive T cell activation is coupled with rapid glutamine uptake, which depended on the amino acid transporter ASCT2. ASCT2 deficiency impaired the induction of T helper 1 (Th1) and Th17 cells and attenuated inflammatory T cell responses in mouse models of immunity and autoimmunity. Mechanistically, ASCT2 was required for T cell receptor (TCR)-stimulated activation of the metabolic kinase mTORC1. We have further shown that TCR-stimulated glutamine uptake and mTORC1 activation also required a TCR signaling complex composed of the scaffold protein CARMA1, the adaptor molecule BCL10, and the paracaspase MALT1. This function was independent of IKK kinase, a major downstream target of the CARMA1 complex. These findings highlight a mechanism of T cell activation involving ASCT2-dependent integration of the TCR signal and a metabolic signaling pathway.