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Functional antigen-independent synapses formed between T cells and dendritic cells

Nature Immunology volume 2, pages 925–931 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Immunological synapse formation is usually assumed to require antigen recognition by T cell receptors. However, the immunological synapse formed at the interface between naïve T cells and dendritic cells (DCs) has never been described. We show here that in the absence of antigen, and even of major histocompatibility complex molecules, T cell–DC synapses are formed and lead to several T cell responses: a local increase in tyrosine phosphorylation, small Ca2+ responses, weak proliferation and long-term survival. These responses are triggered more readily in CD4+ T cells than in CD8+ T cells, which express a specific isoform of the repulsive molecule CD43. These phenomena may play a major role in the maintenance of the naïve T cell pool in vivo.

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Figure 1: DC-induced antigen-independent Ca2+ responses in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.
Figure 2: Phenotypic analysis of naïve polyclonal CD4+ and CD8+ T cell surface molecules.
Figure 3: Redistribution of various molecules in and out of antigen-independent T cell–DC synapses.
Figure 4: Antigen-independent T cell–DC interaction led to PKC-θ polarization and a local increase in tyrosine phosphorylation.
Figure 5: Antigen-independent Ca2+ response and synapse formation occurred in the same CD4+ T cell–DC conjugates.
Figure 6: Analysis of T cell cycling.
Figure 7: In vitro T cell survival.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Randriamampita, G. Bismuth, E. Donnadieu and O. Lantz for helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript and I. Bouchaert and N. Lebrun for help with confocal microscopy and flow cytometry acquisition. Supported by the European community TMR program (M. S.), the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (P. R.) and grants from CNRS and the Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer.

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  1. Patrick Revy and Mireia Sospedra: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d'Immuno-Pharmacologie Moléculaire, CNRS UPR415, Institut Cochin de Génétique Moléculaire, Paris, France

    Patrick Revy, Mireia Sospedra & Alain Trautmann

  2. Laboratoire de Neurobiologie, CNRS UMR 8544, École Normale Supérieure, 46 rue d'Ulm, Paris, 75005, France

    Boris Barbour

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Correspondence to Alain Trautmann.

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Revy, P., Sospedra, M., Barbour, B. et al. Functional antigen-independent synapses formed between T cells and dendritic cells. Nat Immunol 2, 925–931 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni713

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