title: How T lymphocytes kill infected cells.
abstract: Cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) are primary immune effector cells involved in allograft rejection, virus infection and, possibly, tumour immunity. This article is concerned primarily with their in vivo functions and with the mechanism whereby they bind to, and kill, target cells in vitro. A working hypothesis viewing CTL-mediated target cell lysis as the end result of CTL-induced stimulatory exhaustion of the target cell is discussed.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology*