title: Dendritic cell microvilli: a novel membrane structure associated with the multifocal synapse and T-cell clustering.
abstract: Polarizing effects of productive dendritic cell (DC)-T-cell interactions on DC cytoskeleton have been known in some detail, but the effects on DC membrane have been studied to a lesser extent. We found that T-cell incubation led to DC elongation and segregation of characteristic DC veils to the broader pole of the cell. On the opposite DC pole, we observed a novel membrane feature in the form of bundled microvilli. Each villus was approximately 100 nm in diameter and 600 to 1200 nm long. Microvilli exhibited high density of antigen-presenting molecules and costimulatory molecules and provided the physical basis for the multifocal immune synapse we observed during human DC and T-cell interactions. T cells preferentially bound to this site in clusters often contained both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Phyllis J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Peggy A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Bulur
authors.forename: Stanimir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vuk-Pavlovic
authors.forename: Franklyn G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Prendergast
authors.forename: Allan B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Dietz
mesh_terms: D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000276:immunology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000276:immunology; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D054992:Immunological Synapses / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008871:Microvilli / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology