DNA-based nanoparticle tension sensors reveal that T-cell receptors transmit defined pN forces to their antigens for enhanced fidelity.

ABSTRACT: T cells are triggered when the T-cell receptor (TCR) encounters its antigenic ligand, the peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC), on the surface of antigen presenting cells (APCs). Because T cells are highly migratory and antigen recognition occurs at an intermembrane junction where the T cell physically contacts the APC, there are long-standing questions of whether T cells transmit defined forces to their TCR complex and whether chemomechanical coupling influences immune function. Here we develop DNA-based gold nanoparticle tension sensors to provide, to our knowledge, the first pN tension maps of individual TCR-pMHC complexes during T-cell activation. We show that naïve T cells harness cytoskeletal coupling to transmit 12-19 pN of force to their TCRs within seconds of ligand bin

SUBMITTER: Liu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4878516 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature