RBL-2H3 Mast Cell Receptor Dynamics in the Immunological Synapse

Abstract

The RBL-2H3 mast cell immunological synapse dynamics is often simulated with reaction–diffusion and Fokker–Planck equations. The equations focus on how the cell synapse captures receptors following an immune response, where the receptor capture at the immunological site appears to be a delayed process. This article investigates the physical nature and mathematics behind such time-dependent delays. Using signal processing methods, convolution and cross-correlation-type delay capture simulations give a χ-squared range of 22 to 60, in good agreement with experimental results. The cell polarization event is offered as a possible explanation for these capture delays, where polarizing rates measure how fast the cell polarization event occurs. In the case of RBL-2H3 mast cells, polarization appears to be associated with cytoskeletal rearrangement; thus, both cytoskeletal and diffusional components are considered. From these simulations, a maximum polarizing rate ranging from 0.0057 s−2 to 0.031 s−2 is obtained. These results indicate that RBL-2H3 mast cells possess both temporal and spatial memory, and cell polarization is possibly linked to a Turing-type pattern formation.

Keywords

• mast cell
• immunological synapse
• convolution
• cross-correlation
• polarization
• cell memory