A combination of fluorescent NFAT and H2B sensors uncovers dynamics of T cell activation in real time during CNS autoimmunity

The work of Dmitri Lodygin and his colleagues focuses on the important issue of when and where autoaggressive T cells are activated within their target organ to trigger autoimmune disease. Using intravital two-photon imaging and a new molecular sensor—a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) combined with a fluorescently tagged version of nuclear histone protein H2B—the group was able to pinpoint key T cell activation events in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a model for multiple sclerosis.