P. A. van der Merwe

This study investigates ligand requirements for NTR triggering by varying ligand length, mobility, and valency, finding that size-based segregation, not clustering or mechanical force, is more consistent with the kinetic-segregation model.

This paper develops a bivalent binding model to analyze how molecular reach affects SARS-CoV-2 neutralization potency across antibodies.

This study identifies ligand-induced segregation of phosphatases CD45 and CD148 from {gamma}{delta} TCRs as essential for TCR triggering by nonclassical MHC class Ib antigens.

The paper uses CombiCells to compare T cell antigen sensitivity mediated by TCRs, CARs, and BiTEs and assess the impact of co-stimulation and co-inhibition receptors.

The paper shows mechanical forces reduce T cell antigen discrimination by accelerating off-rates of higher-affinity antigens.

This study shows that CARs have lower antigen sensitivity than TCRs due to inefficient use of accessory receptors, and demonstrates ways to improve this sensitivity.

This study analyzes how common mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD and human ACE2 affect binding affinity and kinetics, identifying their roles in transmission and immune escape.

This study measures TCR discriminatory power against pMHC antigens and finds it is imperfect, with T cells responding to low-affinity self pMHC with KD ~1 mM.

The paper measures ultra-low TCR/pMHC affinities and finds T cells have low discriminatory power, requiring large affinity differences to trigger responses.

This study investigates how CD8 co-receptor affects T cell activation by analyzing TCR-pMHC interactions using single-molecule techniques, finding that CD8 enhances spreading responses rather than initial binding.

The paper shows that ZAP70 unbinding from TCR is regulated by kinetic avidity, allowing both signal fidelity and reversibility in T cell responses.

This paper introduces a generic cell surface ligand system to manipulate ligand density, valency, dimensions, and affinity for studying cell-cell recognition.