The super-microscope allowed us to examine the "switch" of T-lymphocytes
With the help of Australia's only super-microscope, researchers at the University of New South Wales, working under the guidance of Associate Professor Katharina Gaus, for the first time examined the processes occurring inside T-lymphocytes at the level of individual molecules. These cells are the fighters of the first line of defense formed by the immune system to protect the body from pathogens of infectious diseases entering the blood.
The precise molecular "switch" identified by scientists, which brings T-lymphocytes into an active state, not only refutes established ideas, but can also give rise to a new direction in the development of drugs for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, ranging from autoimmune diseases to malignant tumors.
According to Katarina Gaus, the super-high resolution fluorescence microscopy technology used by her group is a real breakthrough for science. Currently, there are only about 6 such microscopes in the world. When using traditional microscopy, all components of the object under consideration are illuminated simultaneously, which makes it difficult to study individual molecules. The new microscope makes it possible to illuminate individual molecules up to 10 nm in size and accurately determine their position in relation to unlit "neighbors".
Traditionally, it was believed that the mechanism of T-lymphocyte activation begins on the cell surface in molecular clusters grouped around the activated receptor. In fact, it turned out that the intracellular fragment of the activated receptor molecule turns into a "landing pad" for small membrane bubbles that move to it from the cytoplasm, pick up the activation signal and are sent back to the cytoplasm to transmit the signal to the recipients. The result of this is the amplification (multiple multiplication) of the signal, which explains the high rate of development of the immune response. This mechanism allows several activated receptors to quickly mobilize the cell and trigger a full-fledged immune response.
The next stage of the work is the identification of other key proteins and the compilation of a detailed molecular picture of T-lymphocyte activity. According to the authors, the appearance of a microscope that allows tracking the movements of individual molecules inside a living cell can only be compared with the appearance of equipment for studying the atomic structure of substances. They believe that this breakthrough can completely change the modern concept of cellular and molecular biology.
The article by David J Williamson et al. "Pre-existing clusters of the adapter Lat do not participate in early T cell signaling events" was published on June 5 in the on-line version of the journal Nature Immunology.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of New South Wales: Super science
07.06.2011