Immune synapse: conductor of orchestrated organelle movement

NB Martín-Cófreces, F Baixauli, F Sánchez-Madrid - Trends in cell biology, 2014 - cell.com
Trends in cell biology, 2014cell.com
To ensure proper cell function, intracellular organelles are not randomly distributed within
the cell, but polarized and highly constrained by the cytoskeleton and associated adaptor
proteins. This relationship between distribution and function was originally found in neurons
and epithelial cells; however, recent evidence suggests that it is a general phenomenon
occurring in many highly specialized cells including T lymphocytes. Recent studies reveal
that the orchestrated redistribution of organelles is dependent on antigen-specific activation …
To ensure proper cell function, intracellular organelles are not randomly distributed within the cell, but polarized and highly constrained by the cytoskeleton and associated adaptor proteins. This relationship between distribution and function was originally found in neurons and epithelial cells; however, recent evidence suggests that it is a general phenomenon occurring in many highly specialized cells including T lymphocytes. Recent studies reveal that the orchestrated redistribution of organelles is dependent on antigen-specific activation of and immune synapse (IS) formation by T cells. This review highlights the functional implications of organelle polarization in early T cell activation and examines recent findings on how the IS sets the rhythm of organelle motion and the spread of the activation signal to the nucleus.
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