title: Force and affinity in ligand discrimination by the TCR.
abstract: T cell recognition of antigen is a physical process that requires formation of a cell-cell junction that is rich in active force generation. Recently a biomolecular force probe was used to examine how the T cell receptor (TCR)-pMHC interaction responds to force and the consequences of force-dependent interactions for T cell activation. While adhesion and costimulatory molecules in the immunological synapse impact upon the overall force of the interaction, these results suggest that the TCR uses a force-dependent bond - a catch bond - and that it may therefore be important to consider the TCR-pMHC interaction in isolation in the early phases of the decision process. We discuss here these findings in the context of other work on the impact of forces on the TCR and the quantification of interaction in interfaces.
authors.affiliation: The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Nuffield Department of Orthopedics and Musculosceletal Sciences, The University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, OX3 7FY, United Kingdom; Helene and Martin Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine of the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, 540 First Avenue, New York, NY 10012, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Depoil
authors.affiliation: The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Nuffield Department of Orthopedics and Musculosceletal Sciences, The University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, OX3 7FY, United Kingdom; Helene and Martin Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine of the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, 540 First Avenue, New York, NY 10012, USA. Electronic address: michael.dustin@kennedy.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Dustin