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. 2019 Dec 13;10:2915. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02915

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Copyright © 2019 Slattery and Gardiner.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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NK cell metabolism. Activated NK cells metabolize glucose to pyruvate. Pyruvate is converted to acetyl CoA which is then converted into citrate. Citrate is exported into the cytosol via SLC25A1, where it is converted into oxaloacetate and acetyl CoA. Acetyl CoA can then be used in acetylation reactions or for lipid synthesis. Oxaloacetate is converted back in malate, resulting in the production of NAD⁺, and essential cofactor for glycolysis. Malate is transported back into the mitochondria, where it is converted back into oxaloacetate, producing NADH which can then feed into the electron transport chain for ATP synthesis.