Crk adapts integrins to T cell movement
Signaling by integrins on the cell surface of lymphocytes, such as T cells, upon interaction with proteins on the surface of endothelial cells facilitates lymphocytic adhesion to and migration through blood vessel walls during inflammatory responses. Cell movement involves coordinated changes to the cellular cytoskeleton. Roy et al. found that Crk family adaptor proteins were critical links in the pathways between the activated integrin LFA-1 and cytoskeletal rearrangements in T cells. Activated LFA-1 engaged Crk-associated complexes that enabled the activation of key regulators of actin polymerization and the formation of lamellipodia, projections that propelled the cells across various culture substrates. These findings uncover more of the mechanistic underpinnings of the migratory T cell response, which may enable future therapeutic control of this process in disease.
This is an article distributed under the terms of the Science Journals Default License.
