The area of contact between a T cell and an antigen-presenting cell (APC) is known as the immunological synapse. Although its exact function is unknown, one model suggests that it allows for T cell receptor (TCR) clustering and for sustained signaling in T cells for many hours. Here we demonstrate that TCR-mediated tyrosine kinase signaling in naïve T cells occurred primarily at the periphery of the synapse and was largely abated before mature immunological synapses had formed. These data suggest that many hours of TCR signaling are not required for T cell activation. These observations challenge current ideas about the role of immunological synapses in T cell activation.

The immunological synapse is a specialized cell-cell junction between T cell and antigen-presenting cell surfaces. It is characterized by a central cluster of antigen receptors, a ring of integrin family adhesion molecules, and temporal stability over hours. The role of this specific organization in signaling for T cell activation has been controversial. We use in vitro and in silico experiments to determine that the immunological synapse acts as a type of adaptive controller that both boosts T cell receptor triggering and attenuates strong signals.

Although the Src family tyrosine kinase Lck is essential for T cell receptor (TCR) signaling, whether or how Lck is activated is unknown. Using a phosphospecific antiserum to Lck, we show here that Lck becomes autophosphorylated when T cells are stimulated by antigen-presenting cells (APCs). We found that TCR cross-linking alone could not stimulate Lck autophosphorylation and CD45 was not required for this process. Instead, the T cell accessory molecules CD4 and CD28 cooperated to induce autophosphorylation of Lck. CD4 recruited Lck to the T cell--APC interface, whereas CD28 sustained Lck activation. These data show how the multiple interactions afforded by the immunological synapse drive efficient and highly specific signaling.

The formation of supramolecular activation clusters within the immunological synapse, crucial for sustained signaling and T lymphocyte activation, requires costimulation-dependent reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Here we have identified the actin-remodeling protein cofilin as a key player in this process. Cell-permeable peptides that block costimulation-induced cofilin͞ F-actin interactions in untransformed human T lymphocytes impair receptor capping and immunological synapse formation at the interface between T cells and antigen-presenting cells. As a consequence, T cell activation, as measured by cytokine production and proliferation, is inhibited.

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Although the accumulation of lipid rafts at the immunological synapse is now well accepted, the degree of the accumulation, the localization within the fine structure of the immunological synapse, and the region from which lipid rafts are recruited have not been defined. In this work we show that lipid rafts preferentially accumulate in the central zone of the immunological synapse, the central supramolecular activation complex (C-SMAC). However, quantitative analyses indicate that the level of recruitment of lipid rafts to the C-SMAC is relatively small and suggests that rearrangement of lipid rafts from the peripheral zone of the synapse into the C-SMAC can account for this accumulation. We also assessed the effects of CD28 deficiency on lipid raft recruitment to the immunological synapse. The accumulation of lipid occurred independently of the CD28/B7 system and was not measurably altered by CD28.

Rapid activation of immune responses is necessary for antibacterial defense, but excessive immune activation can result in life-threatening septic shock. Understanding how these processes are balanced may provide novel therapeutic potential in treating inflammatory disease. Fc receptors are crucial for innate immune activation. However, the role of the putative Fc receptor for IgM, known as Toso/Faim3, has to this point been unclear. In this study, we generated Toso-deficient mice and used them to uncover a critical regulatory function of Toso in innate immune activation. Development of innate immune cells was intact in the absence of Toso, but Toso-deficient neutrophils exhibited more reactive oxygen species production and reduced phagocytosis of pathogens compared with controls. Cytokine production was also decreased in Toso −/− mice compared with WT animals, rendering them resistant to septic shock induced by lipopolysaccharide. However, Toso −/− mice also displayed limited cytokine production after infection with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes that was correlated with elevated presence of Listeria throughout the body. Accordingly, Toso −/− mice succumbed to infections of L. monocytogenes , whereas WT mice successfully eliminated the infection. Taken together, our data reveal Toso to be a unique regulator of innate immune responses during bacterial infection and septic shock.

Westphal et al. demonstrate a role of lysosomal trafficking regulator Lyst that couples the regulation of endolysosomal trafficking to inflammatory responses by the control of toll-like receptor–mediated endosomal TRIF signaling pathways.