T cells reorganize their actin and tubulin-based cytoskeletons to provide a physical basis to the immune synapse. However, growing evidence shows that their roles on T cell activation are more dynamic than merely serving as tracks or scaffold for different molecules. The crosstalk between both skeletons may be important for the formation and movement of the lamella at the immunological synapse by increasing the adhesion of the T cell to the antigen-presenting cells (APC), thus favoring the transport of components toward the plasma membrane and in turn regulating the T-APC intercellular communication. Microtubules and F-actin appear to be essential for the transport of the different signaling microclusters along the membrane, therefore facilitating the propagation of the signal. Finally, they can also be important for regulating the endocytosis, recycling, and degradation of the T cell receptor signaling machinery, thus helping both to sustain the activated state and to switch it off.
Keywords: T cell; actin; immune synapse; microtubule-organizing centre.