the immunological synapse免疫突触.pdfVIP

Available online /content/4/S3/S119 Supplement Review The immunological synapse Michael L Dustin Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York, NY, USA Correspondence: Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, Program in Molecular Pathogenesis, Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, 540 First Ave, New York, NY 10016, USA. Tel: +1 212 263 3207; fax: +1 212 263 5711; e-mail: dustin@; website: /groups/Dustin Received: 26 November 2001 Arthritis Res 2002, 4 (suppl 3):S119-S125 Accepted: 11 December 2001 © 2002 BioMed Central Ltd Published: 9 May 2002 (Print ISSN 1465-9905; Online ISSN 1465-9913) Chapter summary T-cell activation requires interaction of T-cell antigen receptors with proteins of the major histocompatibility complex (antigen). This interaction takes place in a specialized cell–cell junction referred to as an immunological synapse. The immunological synapse contains at least two functional domains: a central cluster of engaged antigen receptors and a surrounding ring of adhesion molecules. The segregation of the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) and adhesion molecules is based on size, with the TCR interaction spanning 15 nm and the lymphocyte-function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) interaction spanning 30–40 nm between the two cells. Therefore, the synapse is not an empty gap, but a space populated by both adhesion and signaling molecules. This chapter considers four aspects