Triggering Immune Responses

Tordjman and colleagues from Hôpital Necker, Paris found that neuropilin-1, a protein involved in nerve development, is also expressed by both T cells and the antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that switch them on. Formation of the immunological synapse, a specialized junction formed between APCs and T cells, caused neuropilin-1 to move to the poles of the T cell. Both APCs and T cells were able to bind soluble neuropilin-1, and T cells formed clusters around cells expressing this protein. This binding was functionally relevant, as immune responses were inhibited if the neuropilin-1 interaction between APCs and T cells were blocked. Thus, although neuropilin-1 plays a large role in the nervous system, it is now found to be critical for proper immune system function via its ability to maintain cell-cell contacts.

Author contact:

Olivier Hermine
Hôpital Necker
Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 44 49 53 86
E-mail: hermine@necker.fr

Additional contact for comment on paper:

Christoph Wülfing
Center for Immunology
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX, USA
Tel: +1 214 648 7320
E-mail christoph.wuelfing@utsouthwestern.edu

Also available online.

(C) Nature Immunology press release.

Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza