Immunology

T cells found to require rest and maintenance

T cells, biology textbooks teach us, are the soldiers of the immune system, constantly on the ready to respond to a variety of threats, from viruses to tumors. However, without rest and maintenance T cells can die and leave ...

Immunology

New proof that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered autoreactive cells in persons suffering from narcolepsy. This is a new, important proof that the sleep disorder is an autoimmune disease. This knowledge may lead ...

HIV & AIDS

Researchers support new strategies for HIV control

The search for an AIDS cure has partly focused on ways to eradicate infected cells. Now, new research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. shows that this approach may not be ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Immune cell responses in COVID-19 patients far from optimal

Melbourne researchers have discovered that killer T cells, key immune cells in fighting viral infections, are present at much lower levels in people with COVID-19, compared to influenza or glandular fever.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Reducing unnecessary medication for hepatitis B patients

Not all chronic hepatitis B (HBV) patients require lifelong treatment; but the risks of blindly withdrawing treatment can be severe. However, there's little consensus on which patients can be safely discontinued from treatment, ...

Immunology

Could cytotoxic T-cells be a key to longevity?

Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Science (IMS) and Keio University School of Medicine in Japan have used single-cell RNA analysis to find that supercentenarians—meaning people over the age of 110—have ...

Oncology & Cancer

Cancer immunotherapy: Revived T cells still need fuel

Anti-cancer drugs blocking the PD-1 pathway - known as checkpoint inhibitors - are now FDA-approved for melanoma, lung cancer and several other types of cancer. These drugs are often described as "releasing the brakes" on ...

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Cytotoxic T cell

A cytotoxic T cell (also known as TC, CTL, T-Killer cell, cytolytic T cell, CD8+ T-cells or killer T cell) belongs to a sub-group of T lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) that are capable of inducing the death of infected somatic or tumor cells; they kill cells that are infected with viruses (or other pathogens), or are otherwise damaged or dysfunctional. Most cytotoxic T cells express T-cell receptors (TCRs) that can recognize a specific antigenic peptide bound to Class I MHC molecules, present on all nucleated cells, and a glycoprotein called CD8, which is attracted to non-variable portions of the Class I MHC molecule. The affinity between CD8 and the MHC molecule keeps the TC cell and the target cell bound closely together during antigen-specific activation. CD8+ T cells are recognized as TC cells once they become activated and are generally classified as having a pre-defined cytotoxic role within the immune system.

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