title: How do cytotoxic lymphocytes kill their targets?
abstract: CD8+ cytotoxic lymphocytes, natural killer cells and lymphokine-activated killer cells depend primarily on the perforin/granzyme system to kill their targets, while CD4+ T cells utilize Fas and other mechanisms to induce cell death. The molecular mechanisms used by these pathways to induce target cell apoptosis may converge on common death substrates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110-1093, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shresta
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Graubert
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Ley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D053804:Granzymes; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000502:physiology; D054353:Perforin; D052899:Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000502:physiology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D052899:Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins; D019014:fas Receptor; D054353:Perforin; C509213:GZMB protein, human; D053804:Granzymes; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; C509212:GZMA protein, human