T cell toxicity induced by tigecycline

Shao, Q., Khawaja, A., Nguyen, M.D., Singh, V., Zhang, J., Liu, Y., Nordin, J., Adori, M., Innis, C.A., Castro Dopico, X., Rorbach, J. (2025). T cell toxicity induced by tigecycline binding to the mitochondrial ribosome. Nat Commun 16, 4080.

PDB entries: 8RRI

EMDB entries: EMD-19544, EMD-19545, EMD-19546, EMD-19493, EMD-19490, EMD-19491, EMD-19460, EMD-19526, EMD-19539, EMD-19542, EMD-19460

This study led by the Rorbach group shows that tigecycline, a third-generation tetracycline antibiotic, selectively inhibits mitochondrial translation in human T cells, impairing their activation and expansion. Cryo-EM reveals that tigecycline binds to three distinct sites on the mitoribosome, offering structural insight into its cytotoxicity and potential anti-inflammatory effects, with implications for antibiotic design. .