Activated T cells form stable immunological synapses with antigen-presenting cells whereas naïve T cells initially engage in more transient interactions. Sims et al. (2007) demonstrate that these transient interactions are due to the kinase PKCtheta, which serves to destabilize the synapse thereby permitting T cells to migrate elsewhere. They also show that re-establishment of a synapse involves the actin regulator WASp.
The Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143-0511, USA. matthew.krummel@ucsf.edu
