mRNA as a molecular clock: how mRNA longevity controls the persistence of cellular information

How cells translate short-lived signaling events to long-term responses constitutes a fundamental problem in biology. Recent work indicates that T-cells form short-lived conjugates with antigen presenting cells and secrete cytokines before dissociation. We focused on tumor antigen presentation in response to T-cell derived Interferon-γ (IFN-γ). We hypothesized that tumor cells may employ mechanisms to extend transient IFN-γ signaling to maintain antigen presentation on longer time-scales. By coupling experiments and mathematical modeling, we identified mRNA lifetime as the critical parameter controlling the longevity of antigen presentation. This work uncovers how a basic biochemical parameter can govern the persistence of cellular information.