Immunological Synapse

Sonia Agüera-Gonzalez (1) , Jérôme Bouchet (1) , Andrés Alcover (1)

1 Biologie Cellulaire des Lymphocytes - Lymphocyte Cell Biology

Immunological synapses are dynamically organised cell–cell interfaces formed between cells of the immune system. Different types of immunological synapses lead to distinct functional outcomes. Thus, T and B lymphocytes form immunological synapses with each other and with dendritic cells or macrophages, conveying mutual activation cues. Moreover, natural killer cells or cytotoxic T lymphocytes form synapses with tumour or infected cells delivering cytotoxic granules that destroy those anomalous cells. Immunological synapses are the result of an orchestrated cell polarisation process that involves cytoskeleton rearrangements, intracellular vesicle traffic and the clustering of receptors, adhesion molecules and signalling effectors, which together ensure the immunological synapse stability, its structure and function. Immunological synapses play key roles in immune responses, like T- and B-cell activation, and polarised secretion of cytokines or cytotoxic granules.

Domaines: Immunité adaptative

Sonia Agüera-Gonzalez, Jérôme Bouchet, Andrés Alcover. Immunological Synapse. eLS, 2015, ⟨10.1002/9780470015902.a0004027.pub2⟩. ⟨pasteur-01371047⟩