title: Antigen Receptor Nanoclusters: Small Units with Big Functions.
abstract: Adaptive lymphocytes express highly variable antigen receptors, allowing them to recognize a large variety of proteins, for example, derived from pathogens and tumor cells. Despite decades of investigations, the signaling mechanisms of these receptors are still incompletely understood. Super-resolution imaging studies revealed that antigen receptors, their coreceptors, and even some downstream signaling molecules tend to form dynamic nanometers-sized self-clusters in quiescent cells. Antigen stimulation induces the coalescence of these nanoclusters to form membrane proximal signalosomes that can mediate efficient signal transduction. In this review, we discuss the dynamic structures of T cell receptor and B cell receptor nanoclusters, the driving forces behind this spatial reorganization, as well as their potential relevance in the modulation of lymphocyte activation and function.
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: liulab@tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wanli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Haopeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Center for Protein Science Shanghai, Shanghai Science Research Center, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China. Electronic address: cqxu@sibcb.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Chenqi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000378:metabolism*; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell
keywords: B-cell receptor; T-cell receptor; nanocluster; super-resolution imaging