Histone lactylation drives CD8+ T cell metabolism and function

Abstract

The activation and functional differentiation of CD8⁺ T cells are linked to metabolic pathways that result in the production of lactate. Lactylation is a lactate-derived histone post-translational modification; however, the relevance of histone lactylation in the context of CD8⁺ T cell activation and function is not known. Here, we show the enrichment of H3K18 lactylation (H3K18la) and H3K9 lactylation (H3K9la) in human and mouse CD8⁺ T cells, which act as transcription initiators of key genes regulating CD8⁺ T cell function. Further, we note distinct patterns of H3K18la and H3K9la in CD8⁺ T cell subsets linked to their specific metabolic profiles. Additionally, we find that modulation of H3K18la and H3K9la by targeting metabolic and epigenetic pathways influence CD8⁺ T cell effector function, including antitumor immunity, in preclinical models. Overall, our study uncovers the potential roles of H3K18la and H3K9la in CD8⁺ T cells.