Fig. 5: Protein crowding.
From: The interplay between membrane topology and mechanical forces in regulating T cell receptor activity
a Proteins associated with biological membranes occupy large surface areas on flat membranes (left), but are crowded in the inner leaflet when the membrane is bent inward (right). This creates steric pressure that opposes membrane bending. b Bending the plasma membrane directly around engaged TCRs may increase steric pressure on the CD3 complex and assist dissociation of buried CD3 ITAMs to the cytosol.
