title: Les liaisons dangereuses: immunological synapse formation in animals and plants.
abstract: The immunological synapse in vertebrates describes a specialized junction between a T cell and a target cell, enabling execution of immune responses through focal secretion. Recent insights in the plant immune system suggest that plant cells assemble a pathogen-inducible machinery at the cell surface that shares several features with the immunological synapse. Apparent mechanistic commonalities include co-stimulatory non-self alarm signals as triggers, cell polarization driven by actin cytoskeleton remodeling, protein concentration into ring-shaped assemblies at the cell periphery and focal exocytosis mediated by soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins that are core factors for vesicle fusion. Although in plants, execution of immune responses by polar secretion seems to be a cell type-independent property, its confinement to T cells in the vertebrate immune system might reflect a greater division of labor.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Department of Plant Microbe Interactions, D-50829 Köln, Germany.
authors.forename: Chian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Panstruga
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schulze-Lefert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016764:Cell Polarity; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex / Q000276:immunology; D010944:Plants / Q000276:immunology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D050600:SNARE Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D052067:Soluble N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Factor Attachment Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D052067:Soluble N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Factor Attachment Proteins; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases