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Updated: May 16, 2026

Visualizing the Actin and Microtubule Cytoskeletons at the B-cell Immune Synapse Using Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Microscopy
Published on: April 9, 2018
The integration of signaling and the spatial organization of the T cell synapse
Jérémie Rossy1, David J Williamson, Carola Benzing
1Centre for Vascular Research and Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract:
Engagement of the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) triggers signaling pathways that lead to T cell selection, differentiation and clonal expansion. Superimposed onto the biochemical network is a spatial organization that describes individual receptor molecules, dimers, oligomers and higher order structures. Here we discuss recent findings and new concepts that may regulate TCR organization in naïve and memory T cells. A key question that has emerged is how antigen-TCR interactions encode spatial information to direct T cell activation and differentiation. Single molecule super-resolution microscopy may become an important tool in decoding receptor organization at the molecular level.
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