Granulysin: killer lymphocyte safeguard against microbes.

Granulysin: killer lymphocyte safeguard against microbes. Curr Opin Immunol. 2019 May 18;60:19-29 Authors: Dotiwala F, Lieberman J Abstract Primary T cell immunodeficiency and HIV-infected patients are plagued by non-viral infections caused by bacteria, fungi, and parasites, suggesting an important and underappreciated role for T lymphocytes in controlling microbes. Here, we review recent studies showing that killer lymphocytes use the antimicrobial cytotoxic granule pore-forming peptide granulysin, induced by microbial exposure, to permeabilize cholesterol-poor microbial membranes and deliver death-inducing granzymes into these pathogens. Granulysin and granzymes cause microptosis, programmed cell death in microbes, by inducing reactive oxygen species and destroying microbial antioxidant defenses and disrupting biosynthetic and central metabolism pathways required for their survival, including protein synthesis, glycolysis, and the Krebs cycle. PMID: 31112765 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Immunol Source Type: research