SUMOylation of PDPK1 Is required to maintain glycolysis-dependent CD4 T-cell homeostasis

The immune system is finely tuned to fight against infections, eradicate neoplasms, and prevent autoimmunity. Protein posttranslational modification (PTM) constitutes a molecular layer of regulation to guarantee the proper intensity of immune response. Herein, we report that UBC9-mediated protein SUMOylation plays an essential role in peripheral CD4 T-cell proliferation, but without a perceptible impact on T-cell polarization. Both conventional T-cell (Tcon) and regulatory T-cell (Treg) maintenance are differentially affected, which was likely caused by a shared deficit in cell glycolytic metabolism. Mechanistically, PDPK1 (3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein-kinase 1) was identified as a novel SUMOylation substrate, which occurred predominantly at lysine 299 (K299) located within the protein-kinase domain. Loss of PDPK1 SUMOylation impeded its autophosphorylation at serine 241 (S241), thereby leading to hypoactivation of downstream mTORC1 signaling coupled with incompetence of cell proliferation. Altogether, our results revealed a novel regulatory mechanism in peripheral CD4 T-cell homeostatic proliferation, which involves SUMOylation regulation of PDPK1–mTORC1 signaling-mediated glycolytic process.