Deterministic mechanical model of T-killer cell polarization reproduces the wandering of aim between simultaneously engaged targets.

ABSTRACT: T-killer cells of the immune system eliminate virus-infected and tumorous cells through direct cell-cell interactions. Reorientation of the killing apparatus inside the T cell to the T-cell interface with the target cell ensures specificity of the immune response. The killing apparatus can also oscillate next to the cell-cell interface. When two target cells are engaged by the T cell simultaneously, the killing apparatus can oscillate between the two interface areas. This oscillation is one of the most striking examples of cell movements that give the microscopist an unmechanistic impression of the cell's fidgety indecision. We have constructed a three-dimensional, numerical biomechanical model of the molecular-motor-driven microtubule cytoskeleton that positions the killing apparatus. The

SUBMITTER: Kim MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2603019 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature