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Clustering of CD3ζ is sufficient to initiate T cell receptor signaling

Ma, Y.; Lim, Y. J.; Benda, A.; Goyette, J.; Gaus, K.

2020-02-19 immunology
10.1101/2020.02.17.953463 bioRxiv
Show abstract

T cell activation is initiated when ligand binding to the T cell receptor (TCR) triggers intracellular phosphorylation of the TCR-CD3 complex. However, it remains unknown how biophysical properties of TCR engagement result in biochemical phosphorylation events. Here, we constructed an optogenetic tool that induces spatial clustering of CD3{zeta} chains in a light controlled manner. We showed that spatial clustering of the CD3{zeta} intracellular tail alone was sufficient to initialize T cell triggering including phosphorylation of CD3{zeta}, Zap70, PLC{gamma}, ERK and initiated Ca2+ flux. In reconstituted COS-7 cells, only Lck expression was required to initiate CD3{zeta} phosphorylation upon CD3{zeta} clustering, which leads to the recruitment of tandem SH2 domain of Zap70 from cell cytosol to the newly formed CD3{zeta} clusters at the plasma membrane. Taken together, our data suggest that clustering of the TCR can initialize proximal TCR signaling and thus constitute a biophysical mechanism of TCR triggering.

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