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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

A TIRF Microscopy Technique for Real-time, Simultaneous Imaging of the TCR and its Associated Signaling Proteins
Published on: March 22, 2012
Biophysical studies of T-cell receptors and their ligands
D H Fremont1, W A Rees, H Kozono
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. fremont@columbia.edu
Abstract:
Recently developed methodologies for the production of the soluble extracellular domains of alpha beta TCRs have allowed several biophysical characterizations. The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters associated with specific ligand interactions between the TCR and MHC-peptide complexes, as well as superantigens, are now being established. Crystallographic studies of isolated TCR fragments have yielded the structures of a V alpha domain and the two extracellular domains of a beta-chain. These investigations are beginning to allow a new visualization of antigen recognition and T-cell activation processes.
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