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Dynamics of CD8+ T cell priming by dendritic cells in intact lymph nodes

Nature Immunology volume 4, pages 579–585 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

The cellular dynamics underlying activation of CD8+ T cells by dendritic cells (DCs) in the lymph node are not known. Here we have tracked the behavior of T cells and DCs by subjecting intact lymph nodes to real-time two-photon microscopy. We show that DCs scan at least 500 different T cells per hour in the absence of antigen. Antigen-bearing DCs are highly efficient in recruiting peptide-specific T cells and can engage more than ten T cells simultaneously. The duration of these interactions is of the order of hours, not minutes. The overall avidity of the interaction influences the probability that T cells will be stably captured by DCs, providing a possible basis for T cell competition. Taken together, our results identify the cellular behaviors that promote an efficient CD8+ T cell response in the lymph node.

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Figure 1: Motility of T cells and DCs in the lymph node.
Figure 2: T cell migration promotes very efficient scanning of the T cell repertoire by an individual DC.
Figure 3: Changes in CD8+ T cell behavior on antigen recognition.
Figure 4: Priming of CD8+ T cells by DCs occurs as long-lasting interactions.
Figure 5: Impact of DC density on T cell–DC contacts.
Figure 6: Low-avidity interactions result in inefficient recruitment of peptide-specific T cells by antigen-bearing DCs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank H. Aaron for assistance with microscopy, N. Bhakta for advice on velocity measurements and N. Fernandez, W. Sha, D. Raulet and the members of the Robey laboratory for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by NIH grants AI32985 and AI42033. P.B. is supported by the Cancer Research Institute.

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  1. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Philippe Bousso & Ellen Robey

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  1. Philippe Bousso
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Correspondence to Philippe Bousso.

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Bousso, P., Robey, E. Dynamics of CD8+ T cell priming by dendritic cells in intact lymph nodes. Nat Immunol 4, 579–585 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni928

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