Surface immunoglobulin and the lymphocyte cytoskeleton

Surface immunoglobulin, the key surface receptor of B lymphocytes, undergoes ligand-dependent interaction with the cell cytoskeleton. The capacity of this receptor to associate with and activate the contractile apparatus mediates its unique influence on the lymphocyte physiology: membrane reorganization, chemotaxis, and receptor-ligand endocytosis. Features of this receptor-cytoskeleton interaction are probed with a simple but powerful detergent fractionation technique.