Force-Induced Site-Specific Enzymatic Cleavage Probes Reveal That Serial Mechanical Engagement Boosts T Cell Activation

The T cell membrane is studded with >104 T cell receptors (TCRs) that are used to scan target cells to identify short peptide fragments associated with viral infection or cancerous mutation. These peptides are presented as peptide-major-histocompatibility complexes (pMHCs) on the surface of virtually all nucleated cells. The TCR-pMHC complex forms at cell–cell junctions, is highly transient, and experiences mechanical forces. An important question in this area pertains to the role of the force duration in immune activation. Herein, we report the development of force probes that autonomously terminate tension within a time window following mechanical triggering. Force-induced site-specific enzymatic cleavage (FUSE) probes tune the tension duration by controlling the rate of a force-triggered endonuclease hydrolysis reaction. This new capability provides a method to study how the accumulated force duration contributes to T cell activation. We screened DNA sequences and identified FUSE probes that disrupt mechanical interactions with F > 7.1 piconewtons (pN) between TCRs and pMHCs. This rate of disruption, or force lifetime (τF), is tunable from tens of minutes down to 1.9 min. T cells challenged with FUSE probes with F > 7.1 pN presenting cognate antigens showed up to a 23% decrease in markers of early activation. FUSE probes with F > 17.0 pN showed weaker influence on T cell triggering further showing that TCR-pMHC with F > 17.0 pN are less frequent compared to F > 7.1 pN. Taken together, FUSE probes allow a new strategy to investigate the role of force dynamics in mechanotransduction broadly and specifically suggest a model of serial mechanical engagement boosting TCR activation