Login / Signup

T cell stiffness is enhanced upon formation of immunological synapse.

Philipp JungXiangda ZhouSandra IdenMarkus BischoffBin Qu
Published in: eLife (2021)
T cells are activated by target cells via an intimate contact, termed immunological synapse (IS). Cellular mechanical properties, especially stiffness, are essential to regulate cell functions. However, T cell stiffness at a subcellular level at the IS still remains largely elusive. In this work, we established an atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based elasticity mapping method on whole T cells to obtain an overview of the stiffness with a resolution of ~60 nm. Using primary human CD4+ T cells, we show that when T cells form IS with stimulating antibody-coated surfaces, the lamellipodia are stiffer than the cell body. Upon IS formation, T cell stiffness is enhanced both at the lamellipodia and on the cell body. Chelation of intracellular Ca2+ abolishes IS-induced stiffening at the lamellipodia but has no influence on cell-body-stiffening, suggesting different regulatory mechanisms of IS-induced stiffening at the lamellipodia and the cell body.
Keyphrases
  • single cell
  • cell therapy
  • atomic force microscopy
  • escherichia coli
  • high resolution
  • cell death
  • induced apoptosis
  • high speed
  • bone marrow
  • drug induced
  • photodynamic therapy
  • induced pluripotent stem cells