Hjem
Institutt for biomedisin

BBB Seminar: Antonella Viola

Hovedinnhold

Costimulation at the immunological synapse

Antonella Viola,
Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Milan, I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Milan, Italy

The immunological synapse is a dynamic structure, formed between a T cell and one or more antigen-presenting cells, characterized by lipid and protein segregation, signalling compartmentalization, and bidirectional information exchange through soluble and membrane-bound transmitters. In addition, the immunological synapse is the site where signals delivered by the T-cell receptors, adhesion molecules, as well as costimulatory and coinhibitory receptors are decoded and integrated. Signaling modulation and tunable activation thresholds allow T cells to interpret the context in which the antigen is presented, recognize infectious stimuli, and finally decide between activation and tolerance. In this lecture, strategies used by membrane receptors to tune activation signals in T cells will be discussed.

Host: Anna Aragay , Department of Biomedicine