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Updated: May 21, 2026

Real-time Live Imaging of T-cell Signaling Complex Formation
Published on: June 23, 2013
How does the kinase Lck phosphorylate the T cell receptor? Spatial organization as a regulatory mechanism
Jérémie Rossy1, David J Williamson, Katharina Gaus
1Centre for Vascular Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract:
T cell signaling begins with the ligation of the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) by a cognate peptide and the phosphorylation of the receptor's immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif domains by the kinase Lck. However, the canonical receptor model is insufficient to explain how the constitutively active kinase Lck can discriminate between non-ligated and ligated TCRs. Here, we discuss the factors that are thought to regulate the spatial distribution of the TCR and Lck, and therefore critically influence TCR signaling initiation.
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