Figure 4.

Metabolic challenges encountered by T cells in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer cells compete with tumor-infiltrating T cells for key nutrients that are also required for optimal T cell function. Tumor cells utilize aerobic glycolysis for their energetic requirements, thereby producing lactate as a byproduct in the extracellular milieu and acidifying the tumor microenvironment (TME). Thus, tumor-infiltrating T cells face multiple metabolic challenges in the hypoxic, acidic, and nutrient-deprived TME.