Tonic-ing emissions and compatibility to turbocharge CAR-T

Optimization of energy and carbon-nitrogen allocation maximizes the proliferation and functionality of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells. Lakhani et al. report that tonic signalling elements (scFvs) affect CAR-T cell metabolic fitness in an antigen-independent manner. A modest carbon-nitrogen emission (overflow) and resilient metabolic phenotype (compatibility) are associated with effective CAR-T cell therapy.