Modeling Peptide-MHC Complex/T Cell Receptor Dynamics in the Immunological Synapse
The activation of a T cell begins with the formation of an ``immunological synapse,'' a region of contact between a T cell and an antigen presenting cell (APC). Shortly after its formation, two well-defined regions within the immunological synapse are observed, an inner region where T cell receptors (TCR) on the T cell and peptide-MHC complexes on the APC interact and an outer annulus where adhesion bonds collect. We present a model of the dynamics of TCR-peptide-MHC complex interactions in the contact area, and use the model to assess the roles of serial engagement, TCR oligomerization, and kinetic proofreading in T cell activation.