Journal article

Functional dissection of the granzyme family: cell death and inflammation

Desiree A Anthony, Daniel M Andrews, Sally V Watt, Joseph A Trapani, Mark J Smyth

IMMUNOLOGICAL REVIEWS | WILEY | Published : 2010

Abstract

Cytotoxic lymphocytes rapidly respond and destroy both malignant cells and cells infected with intracellular pathogens. One mechanism, known as granule exocytosis, employs the secretory granules of these lymphocytes. These include the pore-forming protein perforin (pfp) and a family of serine proteases known as granzymes that cleave and activate effector molecules within the target cell. Over the past two decades, the study of granzymes has largely focused on the ability of these serine proteases to induce cell death. More recently, sophisticated mouse models of disease coupled with gene-targeted mice have allowed investigators to ask why granzyme subfamilies are encoded on different chromos..

View full abstract

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank Stephen Turner and the Doherty laboratory, Anne Cornish, and Phil Bird for collaboration. The authors were supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NH&MRC) Program Grant, Senior Principal Research Fellowship (J. A. T.), Australian Fellowship (M. J. S) and Post-doctoral Training Fellowship (D. M. A.). D. A. A. was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Scholarship. The review was drafted in large part from the PhD thesis of D. A. A., and Fig. 1 was edited from Katherine Baran's PhD thesis.