Killer lymphocytes use granulysin, perforin and granzymes to kill intracellular parasites

Cytotoxic Cells Kill Intracellular Bacteria through Granulysin-Mediated Delivery of Granzymes

When killer lymphocytes recognize infected cells, perforin delivers cytotoxic proteases (granzymes) into the target cell to trigger apoptosis. What happens to intracellular bacteria during this process is unclear. Human, but not rodent, cytotoxic granules also contain granulysin, an antimicrobial peptide. Here, we show that granulysin delivers granzymes into bacteria to kill diverse bacterial s...

NK cells kill mycobacteria directly by releasing perforin and granulysin.

Although the mechanisms underlying the cytotoxic effect of NK cells on tumor cells and intracellular bacteria have been studied extensively, it remains unclear how these cells kill extracellular bacterial pathogens. In this study, we examine how human NK cells kill Mycobacterium kansasii and M.tb. The underlying mechanism is contact dependent and requires two cytolytic proteins: perforin and gr...

The mechanism of organophosphorus pesticide-induced inhibition of cytolytic activity of killer cells.

The main toxicity of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) is neurotoxicity, which is caused by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. OPs also affect immune responses including effects on antibody production, IL-2 production, T cell proliferation, decrease of CD5 cells, and increase of CD26 cells and autoantibodies. However, there have been few papers investigating the mechanism of OP-induced inh...

Granulysin for Anticryptococcal Activity NK Cells Use Perforin Rather than

An antimicrobial activity of cytolytic T cells mediated by granulysin.

Cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs) kill intracellular pathogens by a granule-dependent mechanism. Granulysin, a protein found in granules of CTLs, reduced the viability of a broad spectrum of pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and parasites in vitro. Granulysin directly killed extracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis, altering the membrane integrity of the bacillus, and, in combination with perforin, decr...