Recent insights of T cell receptor-mediated signaling pathways for T cell activation and development

Abstract

Immunology: The signals that turn on T cells Researchers are unravelling the molecular signaling pathways that activate T cells, white blood cells which play a central role in the immune response. Sung-Gyoo Park and colleagues at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea review the most recent insights and their significance for learning how to regulate the immune response in order to treat autoimmune disorders and other diseases. T cells are activated when a cluster of proteins on the cell surface, the T cell receptor complex, binds to molecules called antigens derived from pathogenic organisms or present on diseased cells. In autoimmune diseases, however, the receptor can be activated by the body’s own cells, initiating a damaging attack. Recent progress is identifying many specific molecules and their interactions in the cascades of signals that stimulate T cells following binding to antigens.