title: Spinophilin participates in information transfer at immunological synapses.
abstract: The adaptive immune response is initiated by the presentation of peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex molecules on dendritic cells (DCs) to antigen-specific T lymphocytes at a junction termed the immunological synapse. Although much attention has been paid to cytoplasmic events on the T cell side of the synapse, little is known concerning events on the DC side. We have sought signal transduction components of the neuronal synapse that were also expressed by DCs. One such protein is spinophilin, a scaffolding protein of neuronal dendritic spines that regulates synaptic transmission. In inactive, immature DCs, spinophilin is located throughout the cytoplasm but redistributes to the plasma membrane upon stimulus-induced maturation. In DCs interacting with T cells, spinophilin is polarized dynamically to contact sites in an antigen-dependent manner. It is also required for optimal T cell activation because DCs derived from mice lacking spinophilin exhibit defects in antigen presentation both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, spinophilin may play analogous roles in information transfer at both neuronal and immunological synapses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Ona
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bloom
authors.forename: Julia J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Unternaehrer
authors.forename: Aimin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Jeong-Sook
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Lélia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Delamarre
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Ira
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mellman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D000099273:Neurabins
chemical_list: D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D000099273:Neurabins