Overall translation levels (black bars) peak several hours after DCs are activated and then decline.

Peaks and valleys in protein translation prepare one set of immune cells for duty, according to findings from Lelouard et al. With the ebb and flow of translation, antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs) adjust the origin of their antigens.

DCs are professional immunity activators that alert T cells to the presence of invaders by displaying antigens on their surface. This display is ramped up by a maturation program initiated when a DC encounters inflammatory stimuli such as pathogenic components. Scientists have identified an abundance of transcriptional changes that take place during maturation. The new results show that a boost in translation is necessary to put the new transcripts into action.

Translation peaked in DCs about 4 hours after their activation. During this stretch, translation—and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway that activated...

The Rockefeller University Press
2007
The Rockefeller University Press
2007
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