Unlocking the epigenetic code of T cell exhaustion

T cell exhaustion is one of the hallmarks of cancer and chronic viral infections. Revitalization of exhausted T cells is critical for restoring immune function and curing diseases. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic mechanisms are directly involved in the transcriptional control of T cell exhaustion. Decoding the epigenome specific to exhausted T cells is a pivotal step toward development of therapeutic approaches for overcoming T cell exhaustion in infections and cancer.