A comparison of two key research tools used by immunologists to study different types of T-cell receptor signals has identified important features of existing technologies that could allow scientists to better understand immune responses, in a new study led by scientists at the University of Birmingham.
T cells form a crucial part of the immune system and work by detecting fragments of viruses, bacteria and cancer cells using their T cell receptors (TCRs). Once the fragments are detected, important signals are delivered from the TCR’s to inside the T cell. Understanding how TCR signalling is initiated in T cells is critical for understanding how the immune system behaves in response to infectious disease, cancer and autoimmune conditions.
Studying TCR signalling during immune responses in living organisms is technically challenging, and scientists have used indirect approaches, by identifying genes that are rapidly expressed when a T cell signals from its TCR. The genes Nr4a1 and Nr4a3 have been identified as offering clear ‘read outs’ of TCR signalling however it is unknown precisely what controls their expression and how different types of TCR signals may control them.
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Cell Reports. The Research Paper:
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