Editorial: Methods in T cell biology: 2022

Abstract

T cells are crucial players of immune responses by their ability to specifically recognize foreign, potentially harmful, antigens. To perform such specific recognition, T cells express at their plasma membrane an antigen receptor called the T cell receptor (TCR) (1–3). The TCR expressed at the plasma membrane in the majority of T cells is composed by a TCR-a and TCR-b heterodimer, which is able to recognize a complex formed by an antigenic peptide coupled to an MHC molecule (pMHC complex). After specific recognition by a pMHC complex the TCR triggers multiple intracellular signals leading to proliferation, target cell killing, cytokine secretion, and differentiation into effector T cells. Although our understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing activation of T cells has dramatically grown in recent years, there is still much to learn