A molecular-genetic analysis of cytotoxic T lymphocyte function.
Two genes that are specifically expressed in T cells with cytolytic activity were isolated from a CTL cDNA library by differential screening. Both appear to encode serine proteases, thus suggesting a cascade mechanism, similar to complement, in activated CTL. Both CTL-specific proteases have a number of unusual structural features that suggest that they will have novel substrate specificities. One of the proteins (CCPI) has been oriented to the granules found in the cytoplasm of CTL. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that these molecules play an important role in target-cell lysis by CTL. Furthermore, we believe that the detailed molecular knowledge being accumulated through these studies may lead to the development of innovative forms of immunotherapy.
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000201:enzymology; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D007167:Immunotherapy; D008967:Molecular Biology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D012697:Serine Endopeptidases