ArticleScience immunology2019
Interfacial actin protrusions mechanically enhance killing by cytotoxic T cells.
Article in Science immunology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 79 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed, 130 citations in OpenAlex.
- Platycodon grandiflorus-Derived Nanovesicles Sensitize Gastric Cancer to T Cell Killing via Ferroptosis-Driven Membrane Mechanical Remodeling.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Decoding mechanoregulation in immunological synapses using biomimetic artificial cells.Nature methods · 2026Article
- Viscoelastic Niches Shape γδ T-Cell Phenotype and Effector Function.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- T-cell protrusions enable fast, localised initiation of chimeric antigen receptor signalling.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- Inference of the 3D pressure field exerted by a single cell from a thin membrane transverse deformation.The European physical journal. E, Soft matter · 2026Article
- Mechanical communication and function regulation of immune cells.Fundamental research · 2026Review
- Mechanoimmunology: past, present, and future perspectives.Mechanobiology in medicine · 2026Review
- Stress-induced sympathetic hyperactivation drives hair follicle necrosis to trigger autoimmunity.Cell · 2026Article
- Mechanical properties of the tumor microenvironment: drivers of immunotherapy resistance in solid tumors.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Mechanical Signaling: Molecular Mechanisms, Biological Functions, Diseases, and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2025Review
- Chimeric Antigen Receptors Transmit Co-stimulatory Domain Dependent Piconewton Forces to their Target.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Mechanoregulation of lymphocyte cytotoxicity.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2025Review
- Immunological synapse: structures, molecular mechanisms and therapeutic implications in disease.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2025Review
- Mechanical interactions impact the functions of immune cells and their application in immunoengineering.Advanced therapeutics · 2025Article
- Dynamic Plasma Membrane Topography Linked With Arp2/3 Actin Network Induction During Cell Shape Change.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Protrusion-Derived Extracellular Vesicles (PD-EVs) and Their Diverse Origins: Key Players in Cellular Communication, Cancer Progression, and T Cell Modulation.Biology of the cell · 2025Review
- Review
- Spatiotemporal coordination of actin regulators generates invasive protrusions in cell-cell fusion.Nature cell biology · 2024Article
- Bottom-up synthetic immunology.Nature nanotechnology · 2024Review
- PIEZO1 mechanically regulates the antitumour cytotoxicity of T lymphocytes.Nature biomedical engineering · 2024Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) kill by forming immunological synapses with target cells and secreting toxic proteases and the pore-forming protein perforin into the intercellular space. Immunological synapses are highly dynamic structures that boost perforin activity by applying mechanical force against the target cell. Here, we used high-resolution imaging and microfabrication to investigate how CTLs exert synaptic forces and coordinate their mechanical output with perforin secretion. Using micropatterned stimulatory substrates that enable synapse growth in three dimensions, we found that perforin release occurs at the base of actin-rich protrusions that extend from central and intermediate locations within the synapse. These protrusions, which depended on the cytoskeletal regulator WASP and the Arp2/3 actin nucleation complex, were required for synaptic force exertion and efficient killing. They also mediated physical deformation of the target cell surface during CTL-target cell interactions. Our results reveal the mechanical basis of cellular cytotoxicity and highlight the functional importance of dynamic, three-dimensional architecture in immune cell-cell interfaces.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.