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Updated: Sep 8, 2025

Visualizing the Actin and Microtubule Cytoskeletons at the B-cell Immune Synapse Using Stimulated Emission Depletion STED Microscopy
Published on: April 9, 2018
B cell mechanotransduction via ATAT1 coordinates actin and lysosomal dynamics at the immune synapse
Pablo Aceitón1, Isidora Riobó1, Felipe Del Valle Batalla1
1Laboratory of Immune Cell Biology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Abstract:
B cells extract immobilized antigens via immune synapse formation, a process influenced by the physical properties of the antigen-presenting surface. However, the mechanisms linking mechanotransduction to antigen extraction and processing remain poorly understood. Here, we show that B cells activated on stiff substrates initiate mechanotransduction responses that drive the translocation of the microtubule acetylase ATAT1 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, leading to increased α-tubulin acetylation. This modification releases GEF-H1 at the immune synapse, where it promotes the formation of actin foci essential for antigen extraction. Acetylated microtubules also enable B cells to stabilize and position lysosomes at the synapse center, thereby coupling actin-dependent extraction to antigen processing and presentation. Accordingly, ATAT1-silenced B cells fail to concentrate actin foci and lysosomes at the synaptic interface, resulting in impaired antigen extraction and presentation to T cells. Overall, these findings underscore how BCR-dependent mechanotransduction induces microtubule modifications to orchestrate lysosome positioning and actin remodeling at the immune synapse.
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