Coordination of T cell activation and migration through formation of the immunological synapse.

Journal article

T cell activation is based on interactions of T cell antigen receptors with MHC-peptide complexes in a specialized cell-cell junction between the T cell and antigen-presenting cell-the immunological synapse. The immunological synapse coordinates naïve T cell activation and migration by stopping T cell migration with antigen-presenting cells bearing appropriate major histocompatibility complex (MHC) peptide complexes. At the same time, the immunological synapse allows full T cell activation through sustained signaling over a period of several hours. The immunological synapse supports activation in the absence of continued T cell migration, which is required for T cell activation through serial encounters. Src and Syk family kinases are activated early in immunological synapse formation, but this signaling process returns to the basal level after 30 min; at the same time, the interactions between T cell receptors (TCRs) and MHC peptides are stabilized within the immunological synapse. The molecular pattern of the mature synapse in helper T cells is a self-stabilized structure that is correlated with cytokine production and proliferation. I propose that this molecular pattern and its specific biochemical constituents are necessary to amplify signals from the partially desensitized TCR.

Authors: Dustin, M

• Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Volume: 987
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 51-59
• Publication date: 2003-04-01
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2003.tb06032.x
• EISSN: 1749-6632
• ISSN: 0077-8923
• Language: English
• Keywords: ZAP-70 Protein-Tyrosine Kinase; Lymphocyte Activation; Calcium Signaling; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; T-Lymphocytes; Lymphocyte Specific Protein Tyrosine Kinase p56(lck)