The role of T cell receptor signaling thresholds in guiding T cell fate decisions
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Identification of Mediators of T-cell Receptor Signaling via the Screening of Chemical Inhibitor Libraries
Published on: January 22, 2019
Julie Zikherman1, Byron Au-Yeung1
1Rosalind Russell and Ephraim P. Engleman Arthritis Research Center, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Abstract:
Canonical T cell receptor signal transduction has been extensively studied and dissected in cell lines and primary lymphocytes. However, a static depiction of this signaling cascade fails to capture the complex and dynamic process by which individual T cells discriminate TCR:peptide-MHC affinity, then integrate signals over time to drive discrete cellular behaviors such as thymic selection, proliferation, and cytokine production. Recent technological advances have made it possible to study complex lymphocyte behavior on a single cell level and are revealing how T cells interpret information about affinity and abundance of antigen in order to make life-and-death cell fate decisions individually and collectively.
More Related Videos
15:33Adenoviral Transduction of Naive CD4 T Cells to Study Treg Differentiation
Published on: August 13, 2013
09:53Using X-ray Crystallography, Biophysics, and Functional Assays to Determine the Mechanisms Governing T-cell Receptor Recognition of Cancer Antigens
Published on: February 6, 2017
Related Concept Videos
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
Diversity of Antigen Receptors
Before encountering any antigen, lymphocytes express these receptors. On B cells, the antigen receptor is a membrane-bound antibody molecule called BCR; on T cells, it is a T cell receptor or TCR. B and T cell receptors are composed of two...
Diversity in Cell Signaling Responses
Graded and Abrupt Responses
Some signaling systems generate...
TGF - β Signaling Pathway
Receptor Downregulation in MVBs
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive EGFR...