Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are specialised immune cells that search for and eliminate tumour cells. Burgeoning immunotherapies against cancers attempt to harness the capacity of these T cells to navigate various barriers and organs to reach the tumour and then effectively engage and kill their targets, yet little is known about the cellular forces that underpin their movements and interactions.
Following cognate antigen recognition, a CTL grasps its target cell and forms a mechanically dynamic synapse at their interface, through which the contents of cytotoxic granules are released to effect target cell death. Here, we employ an integrative and multidisciplinary method encompassing biophysical instruments (optical tweezers, dual micropipette aspiration), advanced live-cell microscopy, image analysis and computational modelling to uncover the intricate mechanobiology of T-cell mediated tumour rejection.