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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

A TIRF Microscopy Technique for Real-time, Simultaneous Imaging of the TCR and its Associated Signaling Proteins
Published on: March 22, 2012
Common themes in the assembly and architecture of activating immune receptors
Matthew E Call1, Kai W Wucherpfennig
1Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract:
Each of the many different cell types of the immune system expresses one or several activating receptors which serve a central role in the cell's surveillance function. Many of these cell-surface receptors share a distinctive modular design that consists of a ligand-binding module with no intrinsic signalling capability that is non-covalently associated with one or more dimeric signalling modules. Receptor assembly is directed by unique polar contacts within the transmembrane domains, whereas extracellular contacts can contribute to stability and specificity. This Review discusses the structural basis of receptor assembly and the implications of these findings for the mechanisms of receptor triggering.
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