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Imaging the Human Immunological Synapse
09:37

Imaging the Human Immunological Synapse

Published on: December 26, 2019

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Ultrastructure of Immune Synapses

Jaime Llodrá1

  • 1Department of Physiology, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012, Bern, Switzerland. llodra@pyl.unibe.ch.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|March 4, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Investigating T cell activation using advanced electron microscopy reveals nanoscale events during initial immune responses. This research enhances understanding of the immunological synapse formation and function.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology
  • Microscopy

Background:

  • The immunological synapse is crucial for adaptive immune responses.
  • Planar supported bilayers serve as valuable tools to mimic antigen-presenting cells in vitro.
  • Understanding early T cell activation events is key to immune response development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To detail electron microscopy methods for studying early T cell activation.
  • To investigate nanoscale events at the immunological synapse.
  • To expand knowledge of T cell activation following antigen recognition.

Main Methods:

  • Electron microscopy techniques.
  • Development of specialized imaging approaches.
  • Utilizing planar supported bilayers as model systems.

Main Results:

  • Established electron microscopy protocols for high-resolution imaging of T cell interactions.
  • Visualized nanoscale dynamics during the initial phases of T cell activation.
  • Provided new insights into the structural rearrangements at the immunological synapse.

Conclusions:

  • Electron microscopy offers powerful resolution for studying the immunological synapse.
  • The described methods facilitate detailed analysis of early T cell activation.
  • This work contributes to a deeper understanding of immune cell communication and function.

Keywords:
Correlative microscopyElectron microscopyImmunological synapseTomography

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