Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis and MECR regulate CD4+ T cell function and oxidative metabolism

Imbalanced effector and regulatory CD4+ T cell subsets drive many inflammatory diseases. These T cell subsets rely on distinct metabolic programs, modulation of which differentially affects T cell fate and function. Lipid metabolism is fundamental yet remains poorly understood across CD4+ T cell subsets. Therefore, we performed targeted in vivo CRISPR/Cas9 screens to identify lipid metabolism genes and pathways essential for T cell functions. These screens established mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis genes Mecr, Mcat, and Oxsm as key metabolic regulators. Of these, the inborn error of metabolism gene Mecr was most dynamically regulated. Mecrfl/fl; Cd4cre mice had normal naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T cell numbers, demonstrating that MECR is not essential in homeostatic conditions. However, effector and memory T cells were reduced in Mecr knockout and MECR-deficient CD4+ T cells and proliferated, differentiated, and survived less well than control T cells. Interestingly, T cells ultimately showed signs of mitochondrial stress and dysfunction in the absence of MECR. Mecr-deficient T cells also had decreased mitochondrial respiration, reduced tricarboxylic acid intermediates, and accumulated intracellular iron, which appeared to contribute to increased cell death and sensitivity to ferroptosis. Importantly, MECR-deficient T cells exhibited fitness disadvantages and were less effective at driving disease in an in vivo model of inflammatory bowel disease. Thus, MECR-mediated metabolism broadly supports CD4+ T cell proliferation and survival in vivo. These findings may also provide insight to the immunological state of MECR- and other mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis-deficient patients.