The Role of CCL5/RANTES in Regulating Cellular Metabolism in Activated T cells

Recruitment of effector T cells to sites of infection is essential for an effective adaptive immune response. The inflammatory chemokine CCL5/RANTES activates its cognate receptor, CCR5, to initiate cellular functions including chemotaxis. This thesis describes the signaling events invoked by CCL5 and its ability to regulate the energy status of activated T cells. CCL5 treatment in ex vivo activated human T cells induced the activation of AMPK and downstream substrates ACC1, PFKFB2 and GSK-3. Evidence is provided that CCL5 treatment is able to induce glucose uptake in an mTOR-dependent manner. Using 2-deoxy-D-glucose, an inhibitor of glucose uptake, and Compound C, an inhibitor of AMPK, evidence is provided that demonstrate that CCL5-mediated chemotaxis is dependent on metabolic events, since these inhibitors perturb chemotaxis in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, these studies suggest that CCL5 may also influence the metabolic status of activated T cells by simultaneously activating the AMPK and mTOR pathways.MAS