Biomaterial Database

Cell-mediated killing: effector mechanisms and mediators. 1990

D M Ojcius, and J D Young

Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Immunology, Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021.

Cytolytic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells appear to mediate cell killing by several different mechanisms. In one mechanism, a pore-forming protein, called perforin or cytolysin, is exocytosed by the effector cell and is inserted into the plasma membrane of the target cells, thereby collapsing its permeability barrier. Alternatively, the cytolytic cells activate a pathway of programmed cell death that causes specific fragmentation of target cell DNA. The physiological circumstances that determine which mechanism will be employed by the effector cells have not yet been fully determined. Recent experiments suggest that perforin is employed in situations in which there are high local concentrations of interleukin-2, such as cancer and acute viral infections, while a role for the programmed cell death pathway remains to be elucidated.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007111	Immunity, Cellular	Manifestations of the immune response which are mediated by antigen-sensitized T-lymphocytes via lymphokines or direct cytotoxicity. This takes place in the absence of circulating antibody or where antibody plays a subordinate role.	Cell-Mediated Immunity,Cellular Immune Response,Cell Mediated Immunity,Cell-Mediated Immunities,Cellular Immune Responses,Cellular Immunities,Cellular Immunity,Immune Response, Cellular,Immune Responses, Cellular,Immunities, Cell-Mediated,Immunities, Cellular,Immunity, Cell-Mediated,Response, Cellular Immune
D007694	Killer Cells, Natural	Bone marrow-derived lymphocytes that possess cytotoxic properties, classically directed against transformed and virus-infected cells. Unlike T CELLS; and B CELLS; NK CELLS are not antigen specific. The cytotoxicity of natural killer cells is determined by the collective signaling of an array of inhibitory and stimulatory CELL SURFACE RECEPTORS. A subset of T-LYMPHOCYTES referred to as NATURAL KILLER T CELLS shares some of the properties of this cell type.	NK Cells,Natural Killer Cells,Cell, NK,Cell, Natural Killer,Cells, NK,Cells, Natural Killer,Killer Cell, Natural,NK Cell,Natural Killer Cell
D005089	Exocytosis	Cellular release of material within membrane-limited vesicles by fusion of the vesicles with the CELL MEMBRANE.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013602	T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic	Immunized T-lymphocytes which can directly destroy appropriate target cells. These cytotoxic lymphocytes may be generated in vitro in mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC), in vivo during a graft-versus-host (GVH) reaction, or after immunization with an allograft, tumor cell or virally transformed or chemically modified target cell. The lytic phenomenon is sometimes referred to as cell-mediated lympholysis (CML). These CD8-positive cells are distinct from NATURAL KILLER CELLS and NATURAL KILLER T-CELLS. There are two effector phenotypes: TC1 and TC2.	Cell-Mediated Lympholytic Cells,Cytotoxic T Cells,Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte,Cytotoxic T-Lymphocytes,TC1 Cell,TC1 Cells,TC2 Cell,TC2 Cells,Cell Mediated Lympholytic Cells,Cell, Cell-Mediated Lympholytic,Cell, TC1,Cell, TC2,Cell-Mediated Lympholytic Cell,Cytotoxic T Cell,Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes,Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte,Lymphocyte, Cytotoxic T,Lympholytic Cell, Cell-Mediated,Lympholytic Cells, Cell-Mediated,T Cell, Cytotoxic,T Lymphocyte, Cytotoxic,T Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic,T-Lymphocyte, Cytotoxic