Perforin and Granzymes: Function, Dysfunction and Human Pathology

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2015 May 23

PMID 25998963

Citations 552

Authors

Ilia Voskoboinik

James C Whisstock

Joseph A Trapani

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A defining property of cytotoxic lymphocytes is their expression and regulated secretion of potent toxins, including the pore-forming protein perforin and serine protease granzymes. Until recently, mechanisms of pore formation and granzyme transfer into the target cell were poorly understood, but advances in structural and cellular biology have now begun to unravel how synergy between perforin and granzymes brings about target cell death. These and other advances are demonstrating the surprisingly broad pathophysiological roles of the perforin–granzyme pathway, and this has important implications for understanding immune homeostasis and for developing immunotherapies for cancer and other diseases. In particular, we are beginning to define and understand a range of human diseases that are associated with a failure to deliver active perforin to target cells. In this Review, we discuss the current understanding of the structural, cellular and clinical aspects of perforin and granzyme biology.

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