eEF-2K Deficiency Boosts the Virus-Specific Effector CD8⁺ T Cell Responses During Viral Infection

In this study, we revealed a critical role of eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase (eEF-2K), a negative regulator of protein synthesis, in regulating T cells during vaccinia virus (VACV) infection. We found that eEF-2K-deficient (eEF-2K⁻/⁻) mice exhibited a significantly higher proportion of VACV-specific effector CD8⁺ T cells without compromising the development of VACV-specific memory CD8⁺ T cells. RNA sequencing demonstrated that eEF-2K⁻/⁻ VACV-specific effector CD8⁺ T cells had enhanced functionality, which improves their capacity to combat viral infection during the effector phase. Moreover, we identified tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 3 (TRAF3) as a critical mediator of the stronger antiviral response observed in eEF-2K⁻/⁻ effector CD8⁺ T cells. These findings suggest that targeting eEF-2K may provide a novel strategy to augmenting effector CD8⁺ T cell responses against viral infections.