Abstract

Mechanical forces acting on ligand-engaged T-cell receptors (TCRs) have previously been implicated in T-cell antigen recognition, yet their magnitude, spread, and temporal behavior are still poorly defined. We here report a FRET-based sensor equipped with a TCR-reactive single chain antibody fragment, which was tethered to planar supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) and informs most directly on the magnitude and kinetics of TCR-imposed forces at the single molecule level. When confronting T-cells with gel-phase SLBs we observed both prior and upon T-cell activation a single, well-resolvable force-peak of approximately 5 pN and force loading rates on the TCR of 1.5 pN per second. When facing fluid SLBs instead, T-cells still exerted tensile forces yet with threefold reduced magnitude and only prior to but not upon activation. Our findings do not only provide first truly molecular information on TCR-imposed forces within the immunological synapse, they also recalibrate their significance in antigen recognition.