T Cell Receptor (TCR) Signaling at the Crossroads of Immunity, Tolerance, and Disease
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 7
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The T cell receptor (TCR) lies at the heart of adaptive immunity, enabling antigen recognition and orchestrating diverse immune outcomes. Far from a simple on–off switch, TCR signaling functions as a rheostat, integrating the strength, duration, and context of signals to determine cell metabolism, fate, function, and longevity. Subtle variations in TCR engagement shape central and peripheral tolerance, drive effector versus regulatory lineage decisions, and program metabolic and memory pathways that underlie protective immunity or immune pathology.
This Special Issue will bring together cutting-edge reviews and original research articles that illuminate how TCR signals shape immune responses in health and disease. We welcome contributions spanning fundamental mechanisms, systems-level analyses, and translational applications.
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:
- TCR thresholds as regulators of central and peripheral tolerance;
- Effector and regulatory T cell heterogeneity shaped by TCR signal quality;
- Control of memory, exhaustion, and progenitor populations by TCR signals;
- Metabolic circuits programmed by TCR signals in T cell persistence, memory, and exhaustion;
- High-throughput TCR repertoire profiling and biomarker discovery;
- TCR signaling in autoimmunity, infection, transplantation, and cancer;
- Engineering TCR pathways in immunotherapies, including TCR-T and CAR-T strategies;
- Metabolic engineering to enhance the persistence and efficacy of TCR-T/CAR-T cells.
By showcasing mechanistic, computational, and translational insights, this Special Issue will highlight how TCR biology provides both fundamental knowledge and actionable therapeutic opportunities. We encourage submissions from across immunology, systems biology, oncology, transplantation, and metabolism communities.
Prof. Dr. Amar Singh
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- T cell receptor (TCR) signaling
- immune tolerance
- effector T cell differentiation
- regulatory T cells (Tregs, Tr1)
- T cell heterogeneity
- metabolic reprogramming
- T cell memory and exhaustion
- TCR repertoire analysis
- autoimmunity and inflammation
- TCR-based immunotherapy
- CAR-T cells
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