Elsevier

Seminars in Immunology

Volume 9, Issue 2, April 1997, Pages 127-133
Seminars in Immunology

Regular Article
The role of granzyme B cluster proteases in cell-mediated cytotoxicity

https://doi.org/10.1006/smim.1997.0060Get rights and content

Abstract

Granzymes are neutral serine proteases that are stored in the specialized lytic granules of cytotoxic lymphocytes. A mutation introduced into the granzyme B locus leads to a severe defect in the ability of cytotoxic lymphocytes to induce apoptosis in susceptible target cells, and reduces the severity of class I-dependent acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). However, granzyme B-independent cytotoxicity also exists: in CD8+cells, most of it is perforin-dependent, but in CD4+cells, the Fas system and an additional pathway are involved. The identification of these pathways and their physiological relevance may lead to new approaches for inhibiting cytotoxic lymphocyte functions.

References (0)

Cited by (44)

  • The orphan granzymes of humans and mice

    2003, Current Opinion in Immunology
View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text