The role of PKCθ in T cell motility (112.22)

Abstract

Abstract T cell trafficking is critical to immune responses as naïve T cells constantly recirculate into and out of lymph nodes to survey for cognate antigen presented on dendritic cells. While many cell surface receptors including selectins, chemokine receptors, and integrins have been demonstrated to be crucial for T cell motility, less is known about the intracellular mediators of T cell motility. We recently found that PKCθ localizes to the T cell uropod, suggesting a previously unknown role for PKCθ in regulating T cell migration. Consistent with this hypothesis, we now show PKCθ-deficient T cells do not migrate as well as wild type T cells in response to the chemokine CCL21, showing that PKCθ plays a role downstream of the chemokine CCR7. We further show that PKCθ affects the localization of proteins to the uropod, suggesting that one mechanism by which PKCθ affects T cell migration is by regulating the T cell uropod. These data reveal a novel role for PKCθ in regulating T cell migration and suggests that PKCθ signals downstream of CCR7 to regulate T cell motility.