Cutting Edge: Dendritic Cell Actin Cytoskeletal Polarization during Immunological Synapse Formation Is Highly Antigen-Dependent

• Published in: The Journal of immunology (1950) Vol. 171; no. 9; pp. 4479 - 4483
• Main Authors: Al-Alwan, Monther M, Liwski, Robert S, Haeryfar, S. M. Mansour, Baldridge, William H, Hoskin, David W, Rowden, Geoffrey, West, Kenneth A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Am Assoc Immnol 01.11.2003
• Subjects: Actins - metabolism; Actins - physiology; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Antigens - physiology; Cell Aggregation - immunology; Cell Communication - immunology; Cells, Cultured; Coculture Techniques; Cytoskeleton - immunology; Cytoskeleton - metabolism; Dendritic Cells - cytology; Dendritic Cells - immunology; Dendritic Cells - metabolism; Histocompatibility Antigens Class II - immunology; Histocompatibility Antigens Class II - metabolism; Ligands; Lymphocyte Activation; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Transgenic; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptides - physiology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - cytology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - metabolism
• ISSN: 0022-1767; 1550-6606
• DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.171.9.4479

Dendritic cells (DC) actively rearrange their actin cytoskeleton to participate in formation of the immunological synapse (IS). In this study, we evaluated the requirements for DC participation in the IS. DC rearrange their actin cytoskeleton toward naive CD4(+) T cells only in the presence of specific MHC-peptide complexes. In contrast, naive CD4(+) T cells polarized their cytoskeletal proteins in the absence of Ag. DC cytoskeletal rearrangement occurred at the same threshold of peptide-MHC complexes as that required for T cell activation. Furthermore, T cell activation was inhibited by specific blockade of DC cytoskeletal rearrangement. When TCR-MHC interaction was bypassed by using Con A-activated T cells, DC polarization was abrogated. In addition, directional ligation of MHC class II resulted in DC cytoskeletal polarization. Our findings suggest that a high Ag specificity is required for DC IS formation and that MHC class II signaling plays a central role in this process.