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Sci. Signal., 16 December 2008
Vol. 1, Issue 50, p. ec430
[DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.150ec430]

EDITORS' CHOICE

Immunology Invariant Chain Migration Control

Stella M. Hurtley

Science, AAAS, Cambridge CB2 1LQ, UK

The spatiotemporal regulation of the immune response remains largely unknown. Now Faure-André et al. (see the Perspective by Lukacs-Kornek and Turley) show that the invariant chain, a key regulator of antigen processing and presentation by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules, also controls the intrinsic migratory capacity of dendritic cells. In a study of the behavior of dendritic cells taken from mouse models on microfabricated surfaces using time-lapse imaging, the invariant chain caused dendritic cells to enter a discontinuous migration mode that alternated between low- and high-motility phases. This regulation of dendritic cell migration by the invariant chain results from its association with the actin-based motor protein, myosin II. This use of common regulators for antigen processing and cell motility may provide dendritic cells with a way to coordinate the two functions in time and space.

G. Faure-André, P. Vargas, M.-I. Yuseff, M. Heuzé, J. Diaz, D. Lankar, V. Steri, J. Manry, S. Hugues, F. Vascotto, J. Boulanger, G. Raposo, M.-R. Bono, M. Rosemblatt, M. Piel, A.-M. Lennon-Duménil, Regulation of dendritic cell migration by CD74, the MHC class II–associated invariant chain. Science 322, 1705–1710 (2008). [Abstract] [Full Text]

V. Lukacs-Kornek, S. J. Turley, Chaperone puts the brakes on. Science 322, 1640–1641 (2008). [Summary] [Full Text]

Citation: S. M. Hurtley, Invariant Chain Migration Control. Sci. Signal. 1, ec430 (2008).

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