Mitochondrial fusion reduces T cell susceptibility to HIV infection through citrate modulation

Inhibiting the metabolic activity of CD4+ T cells can effectively reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Mitochondria, as critical organelles in eukaryotic metabolism, play a significant role in the progression of many diseases. The change of mitochondrial dynamics is an important process of mitochondrial regulation of cell metabolic activity. However, it remains uncertain whether regulating mitochondrial dynamics is a viable approach to reducing HIV infection. In this study, we demonstrated that promoting mitochondrial fusion in Jurkat cells through treatment with the mitochondrial fusion promoter M1 and the Drp1 (dynamin-related protein 1) inhibitor Mdivi1 conferred resistance to single-round VSVG-HIVNL4-3-GFP viral infection. Targeted metabolomics analysis revealed and subsequently confirmed the potential involvement of citrate in reducing HIV infection, which has been subsequently verified. Further, we found that plasma citrate level was negatively associated with HIV disease progression. Multiomics results showed that citric acid leads to a decrease in the level of nucleotide metabolism in Jurkat cells. In conclusion, increased citrate levels resulting from mitochondrial fusion significantly impair the ability of HIV to infect cells, which may be due to regulated nucleotide metabolism.