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Merck

How do cytotoxic lymphocytes kill their targets?

Current opinion in immunology (1998-10-31)
S Shresta, C T Pham, D A Thomas, T A Graubert, T J Ley
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.