Work

Crk adaptor proteins mediate actin-dependent T cell migration and mechanosensing induced by the integrin LFA-1

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: T cell entry into inflamed tissue involves firm adhesion, spreading, and migration of the T cells across endothelial barriers. These events depend on "outside-in" signals through which engaged integrins direct cytoskeletal reorganization. We investigated the molecular events that mediate this process and found that T cells from mice lacking expression of the adaptor protein Crk exhibited defects in phenotypes induced by the integrin lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1), namely, actin polymerization, leading edge formation, and two-dimensional cell migration. Crk protein was an essential mediator of LFA-1 signaling-induced phosphorylation of the E3 ubiquitin ligase c-Cbl and its subsequent interaction with the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) subunit p85, thus promoting PI3K activity and cytoskeletal remodeling. In addition, we found that Crk proteins were required for T cells to respond to changes in substrate stiffness, as measured by alterations in cell spreading and differential phosphorylation of the force-sensitive protein CasL. These findings identify Crk proteins as key intermediates coupling LFA-1 signals to actin remodeling and provide mechanistic insights into how T cells sense and respond to substrate stiffness.

Source: Science Signaling

DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aat3178

Authors: Nathan H. Roy, Joanna L. MacKay, Tanner F. Robertson, Daniel A. Hammer, Janis K. Burkhardt

Institutions: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania

Language: English

Topic: Cell Adhesion Molecules Research

Subfield: Immunology and Allergy

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green