Metabolomics Analysis of the Effect of GAT-2 Deficiency on Th1 Cells in Mice

The classic neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been shown to shape the activation and function of immune cells. There are four high affinity GABA transporters (GATs, including GAT-1, GAT-2, GAT-3 and GAT-4) responsible for the transmembrane transport of GABA in mice. To explore the effect of GAT-2 on type 1 helper T (Th1) cells, naïve CD4+ T cells were isolated from splenocytes of GAT-2 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice and cultured for Th1 cell differentiation, and then metabolomics analysis of Th1 cells was performed via gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) added with multivariate analyses. The study will provide insights into T cell response to GAT-2 deficiency in mice.