Epidermal Fatty Acid Binding Protein (E-FABP) Is Not Required for the Generation or Maintenance of Effector and Memory T Cells following Infection with Listeria monocytogenes

Following activation of naïve T cells there are dynamic changes in the metabolic pathways used by T cells to support both the energetic needs of the cell and the macromolecules required for growth and proliferation. Among other changes, lipid metabolism undergoes dynamic transitions between fatty acid oxidation and fatty acid synthesis as cells progress from naïve to effector and effector to memory T cells. The hydrophobic nature of lipids requires that they be bound to protein chaperones within a cell. Fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) represent a large class of lipid chaperones, with epidermal FABP (E-FABP) expressed in T cells. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of E-FABP in antigen-specific T cell responses. Following infection with Listeria monocytogenes, we observed similar clonal expansion, contraction and formation of memory CD8 T cells in WT and E-FABP-/- mice, which also exhibited similar phenotypic and functional characteristics. Analysis of Listeria-specific CD4 T cells also revealed no defect in the expansion, contraction, and formation of memory CD4 T cells in E-FABP-/- mice. These data demonstrate that E-FABP is dispensable for antigen-specific T cell responses following a bacterial infection.