Mechanical forces have key roles in regulating activation of T cells and coordination of the adaptive immune response. A recent example is the ability of T cells to sense the rigidity of an underlying substrate through the T-cell receptor (TCR) coreceptor CD3 and CD28, a costimulation signal essential for cell activation. In this report, we show that these two receptor systems provide complementary functions in regulating the cellular forces needed to test the mechanical properties of the extracellular environment. Traction force microscopy was carried out on primary human cells interacting with micrometer-scale elastomer pillar arrays presenting activation antibodies to CD3 and/or CD28. T cells generated traction forces of 100 pN on arrays with both antibodies. By providing one antibody or the other in solution instead of on the pillars, we show that force generation is associated with CD3 and the TCR complex. Engagement of CD28 increases traction forces associated with CD3 through the signaling pathway involving PI3K, rather than providing additional coupling between the cell and surface. Force generation is concentrated to the cell periphery and associated with molecular complexes containing phosphorylated Pyk2, suggesting that T cells use processes that share features with integrin signaling in force generation. Finally, the ability of T cells to apply forces through the TCR itself, rather than the CD3 coreceptor, was tested. Mouse cells expressing the 5C.C7 TCR exerted traction forces on pillars presenting peptide-loaded MHCs that were similar to those with α-CD3, suggesting that forces are applied to antigen-presenting cells during activation.T -cell activation is a key regulatory point of the adaptive immune response. It is initiated by recognition of peptideloaded MHCs (pMHCs) on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) by T-cell receptors (TCRs). Engagement of additional receptors on the T-cell surface leads to formation of a specialized interface termed the immune synapse (IS), which focuses communication between these cells. The IS has emerged as a compelling model of juxtacrine signaling, providing key insights into how the dynamics of such interfaces influence cell-cell communication. Mechanical forces originating from a range of sources, including cytoskeletal dynamics, also play important roles in T-cell activation. The initial spreading of T cells following contact with an activating surface is dependent on a burst of actin polymerization (1, 2). Subsequent retrograde flow of actin and contraction of actomyosin structures drive microscale reorganization of signaling complexes within this interface, resulting in formation of concentric central, peripheral, and distal supramolecular activation cluster (cSMAC, pSMAC, and dSMAC) structures that comprise the archetypal IS (3-8). The TCR complex itself may be triggered by external forces (9, 10), whereas TCR ligation may induce actin polymerization and generation of protrusive forces (11).More recently, mechanosensing by T cells was demonstrated in the context ...