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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes
Published on: June 13, 2014
The role of adapter proteins in T cell activation
1University of Iowa College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Iowa City, Indiana 52242, USA. gary-koretzky@uiowa.edu
Abstract:
Engagement of antigen receptors on lymphocytes leads to a myriad of complex signal transduction cascades. Recently, work from several laboratories has led to the identification and characterization of novel adapter molecules, proteins with no intrinsic enzymatic activity but which integrate signal transduction pathways by mediating protein-protein interactions. Interestingly, it appears that many of these adapter proteins play as critical a role as the effector enzymes themselves in both lymphocyte development and activation. This review describes some of the biochemical and molecular features of several of these newly identified hematopoietic cell-specific adapter molecules highlighting their importance in regulating (both positively and negatively) signal transduction mediated by the T cell antigen receptor.
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