Dendritic cells control T cell tonic signaling required for responsiveness to foreign antigen
Dendritic cells (DCs) are key components of the adaptive immune system contributing to initiation and regulation of T cell responses. T cells continuously scan DCs in lymphoid organs for the presence of foreign antigen. However, little is known about the functional consequences of these frequent T c...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[March 30, 2010]
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| In: |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Year: 2010, Volume: 107, Issue: 13, Pages: 5931-5936 |
| ISSN: | 1091-6490 |
| DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.0911877107 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0911877107 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0911877107 
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| Author Notes: | Kristin Hochweller, Guido H. Wabnitz, Yvonne Samstag, Janine Suffner, Günter J. Hämmerling, and Natalio Garbi |
| Summary: | Dendritic cells (DCs) are key components of the adaptive immune system contributing to initiation and regulation of T cell responses. T cells continuously scan DCs in lymphoid organs for the presence of foreign antigen. However, little is known about the functional consequences of these frequent T cell-DC interactions without cognate antigen. Here we demonstrate that these contacts in the absence of foreign antigen serve an important function, namely, induction of a basal activation level in T cells required for responsiveness to subsequent encounters with foreign antigens. This basal activation is provided by self-recognition of MHC molecules on DCs. Following DC depletion in mice, T cells became impaired in TCR signaling and immune synapse formation, and consequently were hyporesponsive to antigen. This process was reversible, as T cells quickly recovered when the number of DCs returned to a normal level. The extent of T cell reactivity correlated with the degree of DC depletion in lymphoid organs, suggesting that a full DC compartment guarantees optimal T cell responsiveness. These findings indicate that DCs are specialized cells that not only present foreign antigen, but also promote a “tonic” state in T cells for antigen responsiveness. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 24.05.2023 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1091-6490 |
| DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.0911877107 |