Toward a Nanoscale View of Cell Sensing and Response

Nanobiotechnology and engineered materials offer new approaches for investigating spatially regulated properties of receptor-mediated cell activation. Although impressive progress has been made in identifying proteins and pathways involved in cellular signaling, very little is known about how these many components are organized in space to yield a specific response. Exemplifying these intricate systems is IgE receptors (FcεRI) on mast cells that serve gatekeepers for the allergic immune response. For stimulation, IgE receptors are clustered on the cell surface, typically by a multivalent ligand (antigen), causing their stable association with plasma membrane domains where they initiate transmembrane activation of signaling proteins and engagement of the cytoskeleton. The result is multiple cellular responses, including degranulation to release mediators of allergies and inflammation. My talk will describe our collaborative efforts that incorporate nanobiotechnology to examine the spatial orchestration of these events on the micro and nano length scales at which they occur. These approaches include construction of architecturally defined ligands and fluorescence microscopy combined with  micro-patterned stimuli and nanofabricated windows.