tumor-microenvironment
The immunological synapse is the organized interface — comprising a central supramolecular activation cluster (cSMAC) and a peripheral SMAC (pSMAC) — formed between an immune cell and its target or antigen-presenting cell during receptor engagement.
It is the site where trogocytosis occurs: ligand-receptor engagement at the synapse triggers signaling (Lck/Syk → PI3K → actin remodeling in T cells; Src-kinase/Ca2+/PKC in NK cells) that drives membrane transfer between the two cells.
Related terms
Source papers
- Trogocytosis-mediated immune evasion in the tumor microenvironment doi:10.1038/s12276-024-01364-2