A new study identifies a mechanism by which Elovl1 deletion disrupts the canonical feedback inhibition of cholesterol synthesis in T cells. By fundamentally rewiring cholesterol metabolism, Elovl1-depleted T cells gain increased fitness and synergize with anti-PD-1 therapy to enhance antitumour responses.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access through your institution
Change institution
Buy or subscribe
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Learn more
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Learn more
Buy this article
Purchase on SpringerLink
Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Log in
Learn about institutional subscriptions
Read our FAQs
Contact customer support
Fig. 1: Elovl1 deletion rewires mevalonate metabolism in T cells to increase cholesterol and enhance antitumour function.
References
Kennewick, K. T. & Bensinger, S. J. Immunol. Res. 317, 71–94 (2023).
CASGoogle Scholar
Miao, S. et al. J. Exp. Med. 222, e20240445 (2025).
ArticleGoogle Scholar
Hu, C. et al. Cell Metab. 36, 630–647.e8 (2024).
ArticleCASPubMedGoogle Scholar
Kidani, Y. et al. Nat. Immunol. 14, 489–499 (2013).
ArticleCASPubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Lim, S. A. et al. Nature 591, 306–311 (2021).
ArticleCASPubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Reina-Campos, M. et al. Nature 621, 179–187 (2023).
ArticleCASPubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Pretto, S. et al. Nat. Metab.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01233-w (2025).
Yan, C. et al. Cancer Cell 41, 1276–1293.e11 (2023).
ArticleCASPubMedGoogle Scholar
Yang, W. et al. Nature 531, 651–655 (2016).
ArticleCASPubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Chen, Y. et al. Mol. Cell 82, 1278–1287.e5 (2022).
ArticleCASPubMedGoogle Scholar
Molnár, E. et al. J. Biol. Chem. 287, 42664–42674 (2012).
ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Ma, X. et al. Cell Metab. 30, 143–156.e5 (2019).
ArticleCASPubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Liu, X. et al. Sci. Transl. Med. 13, 31 (2021).
CASGoogle Scholar
Schumacher, M. M., Elsabrouty, R., Seemann, J., Jo, Y. & DeBose-Boyd, R. A. eLife 4, e05560 (2015).
ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Hwang, J., Peterson, B. G., Knupp, J. & Baldridge, R. D. Sci. Adv. 9, eadd8579 (2023).
ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Download references
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Kelly T. Kennewick & Steven J. Bensinger
Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Steven J. Bensinger
Authors
Kelly T. Kennewick
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
2. Steven J. Bensinger
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Steven J. Bensinger.
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
Reprints and permissions
About this article
Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark
Cite this article
Kennewick, K.T., Bensinger, S.J. Disrupting cholesterol homeostasis in T cells boosts antitumour responses. Nat Metab (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01240-x
Download citation
Published:10 March 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01240-x
Share this article
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Get shareable link
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Copy to clipboard
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative