Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 113, Issue 40, Pages E5916-E5924Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605399113
Keywords
T-cell receptor; microvilli; superresolution microscopy; membrane protein clusters; total internal reflection microscopy
Categories
Funding
- US-Israel Binational Science Foundation
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [24111001, 24111005] Funding Source: KAKEN
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Leukocyte microvilli are flexible projections enriched with adhesion molecules. The role of these cellular projections in the ability of T cells to probe antigen-presenting cells has been elusive. In this study, we probe the spatial relation of microvilli and T-cell receptors (TCRs), the major molecules responsible for antigen recognition on the T-cell membrane. To this end, an effective and robust methodology for mapping membrane protein distribution in relation to the 3D surface structure of cells is introduced, based on two complementary superresolution microscopies. Strikingly, TCRs are found to be highly localized on microvilli, in both peripheral blood human T cells and differentiated effector T cells, and are barely found on the cell body. This is a decisive demonstration that different types of T cells universally localize their TCRs to microvilli, immediately pointing to these surface projections as effective sensors for antigenic moieties. This finding also suggests how previously reported membrane clusters might form, with microvilli serving as anchors for specific T-cell surface molecules.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available