Cell
Volume 165, Issue 1, 24 March 2016, Pages 100-110
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Article
Cytotoxic T Cells Use Mechanical Force to Potentiate Target Cell Killing

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.01.021Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • T cell cytotoxicity correlates with the exertion of mechanical force

  • Force exertion is associated with enhanced perforin pore formation on the target cell

  • Cell tension promotes perforin pore formation

  • Cytotoxic T cells spatiotemporally coordinate force exertion and perforin release

Summary

The immunological synapse formed between a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and an infected or transformed target cell is a physically active structure capable of exerting mechanical force. Here, we investigated whether synaptic forces promote the destruction of target cells. CTLs kill by secreting toxic proteases and the pore forming protein perforin into the synapse. Biophysical experiments revealed a striking correlation between the magnitude of force exertion across the synapse and the speed of perforin pore formation on the target cell, implying that force potentiates cytotoxicity by enhancing perforin activity. Consistent with this interpretation, we found that increasing target cell tension augmented pore formation by perforin and killing by CTLs. Our data also indicate that CTLs coordinate perforin release and force exertion in space and time. These results reveal an unappreciated physical dimension to lymphocyte function and demonstrate that cells use mechanical forces to control the activity of outgoing chemical signals.

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