Fig. 6: Electrical stimulation reprograms T cell metabolism.

a OT-I cells were isolated and cultured on the nanocomposite membranes with varying surface charges. T cells were treated with OVA peptides for 2 days and IL2 for 4 days. Genes upregulated in the HC group were analyzed with GO terms. Statistical significance was assessed by a one-sided hypergeometric test. b OT-I cells were isolated and cultured on the nanocomposite membranes with varying surface charges. T cells were treated with OVA peptides for 2 days and IL2 for 4 days. Genes upregulated in the HC group were analyzed with metabolism pathways. c–h RT–qPCR analysis of indicated gene expression levels in T cells cultured on the nanocomposite membranes with varying surface charges. Relative expression of the genes was normalized by Actb (n  =  4 biological replicates, mean ± sem, **P = 0.0012 (Ndufb2), **P = 0.0027 (Ndufaf4), **P = 0.0013 (Ndufa5), ***P = 0.0005 (Cox7a1), ***P = 0.0008 (Ndufa12), ****P < 0.0001, two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test). i T cells were stimulated with OVA peptides (2 μg/mL) for 2 days and IL-2 (10 U/mL) for 4 days, and cell extracts were subjected to LC/MS analysis. PCA analysis of metabolites within T cells cultured on NC and HC nanocomposite membranes. j Heatmap plot showing the top metabolites in T cells cultured on nanocomposite membranes. T cells were stimulated with OVA peptides (2 μg/mL) for 2 days and IL-2 (10 U/mL) for 4 days, and cell extracts were subjected to LC/MS analysis. k T cells were stimulated with OVA peptides (2 μg/mL) for 2 days and IL-2 (10 U/mL) for 4 days, and cell extracts were subjected to LC/MS analysis. Metabolites that were significantly upregulated in T cells cultured on HC nanocomposite membranes, compared with T cells cultured on NC nanocomposite membranes, were analyzed with the KEGG pathway. Statistical significance was assessed by a one-sided hypergeometric test. l–n OT-I cells were isolated and cultured on the nanocomposite membranes with varying surface charges. Metabolic characteristics of T cells were evaluated by OCR and SRC levels. Oligomycin (500 nM), carbonyl cyanide-4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone (FCCP) (1 μM), and antimycin A & rotenone (500 nM) were used (n  =  6 biological replicates, mean ± sem, ****P < 0.0001, two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test). o OT-I cells were isolated and cultured on the nanocomposite membranes with varying surface charges. T cells were treated with OVA peptides for 2 days and IL2 for 4 days. Flow cytometric analysis of the expression of γ-H2AX in T cells was performed. (n = 3 biological replicates, mean ± sem, ns, not significant (P > 0.05), two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test). Data are representative of two (c–h, o) independent experiments. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.