During antigen-specific T-cell activation, mitochondria mobilize towards the vicinity of the immune synapse. We show here that the mitochondrial fission factor dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) docks at mitochondria, regulating their positioning and activity near the actin-rich ring of the peripheral supramolecular activation cluster (pSMAC) of the immune synapse. Mitochondrial redistribution in response to T-cell receptor engagement was abolished by Drp1 silencing, expression of the phosphomimetic mutant Drp1S637D and the Drp1-specific inhibitor mdivi-1. Moreover, Drp1 knockdown enhanced mitochondrial depolarization and T-cell receptor signal strength, but decreased myosin phosphorylation, ATP production and T-cell receptor assembly at the central supramolecular activation cluster (cSMAC). Our results indicate that Drp1-dependent mitochondrial positioning and activity controls T-cell activation by fuelling central supramolecular activation cluster assembly at the immune synapse.

In many cell types, nuclear A-type lamins have been implicated in structural and functional activities, including higher-order genome organization, DNA replication and repair, gene transcription, and signal transduction. However, their role in specialized immune cells remains largely unexplored. Here, we showed that the abundance of A-type lamins is almost negligible in resting naïve T lymphocytes, but that it is substantially increased upon activation of the T cell receptor (TCR), and is an early event that accelerates formation of the immunological synapse between T cells and antigen-presenting cells. We found that lamin-A enhanced the polymerization of F-actin in T cells, a critical step for immunological synapse formation, by physically connecting the nucleus to the plasma membrane through the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex. We also showed that lamin-A played a key role in other membrane, cytoplasmic, and nuclear events related to TCR activation, including receptor-clustering, downstream signaling, and target gene expression. Notably, the presence of lamin-A was associated with enhanced extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 signaling, and pharmacological inhibition of this pathway reduced the extent of lamin-A-dependent T cell activation. Moreover, mice deficient in lamin-A exhibited impaired T cell responses in vivo. These findings underscore the importance of A-type lamins for TCR activation, and identify lamin-A as a previously unappreciated regulator of the immune response.

The recruitment of leukocytes to sites of inflammation is crucial for a functional immune response. In the present work, we explored the role of mitochondria in lymphocyte adhesion, polarity, and migration. We show that during adhesion to the activated endothelium under physiological flow conditions, lymphocyte mitochondria redistribute to the adhesion zone together with the microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) in an integrin-dependent manner. Mitochondrial redistribution and efficient lymphocyte adhesion to the endothelium require the function of Miro-1, an adaptor molecule that couples mitochondria to microtubules. Our data demonstrate that Miro-1 associates with the dynein complex. Moreover, mitochondria accumulate around the MTOC in response to the chemokine CXCL12/SDF-1␣; this redistribution is regulated by Miro-1. CXCL12-dependent cell polarization and migration are reduced in Miro-1-silenced cells, due to impaired myosin II activation at the cell uropod and diminished actin polymerization. These data point to a key role of Miro-1 in the control of lymphocyte adhesion and migration through the regulation of mitochondrial redistribution.