| First Author | Hochweller K | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 107 |
| Issue | 13 | Pages | 5931-6 |
| PubMed ID | 20231464 | Mgi Jnum | J:158921 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4440805 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.0911877107 |
| Citation | Hochweller K, et al. (2010) Dendritic cells control T cell tonic signaling required for responsiveness to foreign antigen. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107(13):5931-6 |
| abstractText | Dendritic cells (DCs) are key components of the adaptive immune system contributing to initiation and regulation of T cell responses. T cells continuously scan DCs in lymphoid organs for the presence of foreign antigen. However, little is known about the functional consequences of these frequent T cell-DC interactions without cognate antigen. Here we demonstrate that these contacts in the absence of foreign antigen serve an important function, namely, induction of a basal activation level in T cells required for responsiveness to subsequent encounters with foreign antigens. This basal activation is provided by self-recognition of MHC molecules on DCs. Following DC depletion in mice, T cells became impaired in TCR signaling and immune synapse formation, and consequently were hyporesponsive to antigen. This process was reversible, as T cells quickly recovered when the number of DCs returned to a normal level. The extent of T cell reactivity correlated with the degree of DC depletion in lymphoid organs, suggesting that a full DC compartment guarantees optimal T cell responsiveness. These findings indicate that DCs are specialized cells that not only present foreign antigen, but also promote a 'tonic' state in T cells for antigen responsiveness. |
