Biophysics of Immune Cell Signalling – a molecular dance in time and space

Abstract

Signaling processes between various immune cells involve large-scale spatial reorganization of receptors and signaling molecules within the cell-cell junctions. These structures, now collectively referred to as immune synapses, interleave physical and mechanical processes with the cascades of chemical reactions that constitute signal transduction systems. Molecular level clustering, spatial exclusion, and long-range directed transport are all key regulatory mechanisms. Our group’s approach is based on advanced microscopy and on synthetic biology. We combine signaling pathway reconstitution with single-molecule biophysics to understand how immune cells communicate with each other: how do immune cells use molecular signaling pathways to transmit, process, and respond to information, both precisely and unambiguously? Currently, most projects in the lab use a hybrid in vitro-in vivo approach, interfacing in vitro cell surface models with immune cells. We use this approach to study the spatiotemporal reorganization of T-cell signaling molecules in natural signaling networks (e.g. LAIR-1), but also for and man-designed signaling molecules in immunotherapeutics against cancer e.g., chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) signalling.