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A Uniform Shear Assay for Human Platelet and Cell Surface Receptors via Cone-plate Viscometry
Published on: June 5, 2019
Mechanosensing through immunoreceptors
Cheng Zhu1,2,3, Wei Chen4, Jizhong Lou5
1Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Atlanta, GA, USA. cheng.zhu@bme.gatech.edu.
Abstract:
The immune response is orchestrated by a variety of immune cells. The function of each cell is determined by the collective signals from various immunoreceptors, whose expression and activity depend on the developmental stages of the cell and its environmental context. Recent studies have highlighted the presence of mechanical force on several immunoreceptor-ligand pairs and the important role of force in regulating their interaction and function. In this Perspective, we use the T cell antigen receptor as an example with which to review the current understanding of the mechanosensing properties of immunoreceptors. We discuss the types of forces that immunoreceptors may encounter and the effects of force on ligand bonding, conformational change and the triggering of immunoreceptors, as well as the effects of force on the downstream signal transduction, cell-fate decisions and effector function of immune cells.
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