|
GZMB
Granzyme B is a serine protease that in humans is encoded by the ''GZMB'' gene. Granzyme B is expressed by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cells. CTL and NK cells share the remarkable ability to recognize specific infected target cells. They are thought to protect their host by inducing apoptosis of cells that bear on their surface 'nonself' antigens, usually peptides or proteins resulting from infection by intracellular pathogens. The protein encoded by this gene is crucial for the rapid induction of target cell apoptosis by CTL in cell-mediated immune response. See also * The Proteolysis Map *Granzyme Granzymes are serine proteases released by cytoplasmic granules within cytotoxic T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. They induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) in the target cell, thus eliminating cells that have become cancerous or are infec ... References Further reading * * * External links * The MEROPS online database for peptidases and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granzyme
Granzymes are serine proteases released by cytoplasmic granules within cytotoxic T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. They induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) in the target cell, thus eliminating cells that have become cancerous or are infected with viruses or bacteria. Granzymes also kill bacteria and inhibit viral replication. In NK cells and T cells, granzymes are packaged in cytotoxic granules along with perforin. Granzymes can also be detected in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, golgi complex, and the trans-golgi reticulum. The contents of the cytotoxic granules function to permit entry of the granzymes into the target cell cytosol. The granules are released into an immune synapse formed with a target cell, where perforin mediates the delivery of the granzymes into endosomes in the target cell, and finally into the target cell cytosol. Granzymes are part of the serine esterase family. They are closely related to other immune serine proteases expressed by innate immune cel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serine Protease
Serine proteases (or serine endopeptidases) are enzymes that cleave peptide bonds in proteins. Serine serves as the nucleophilic amino acid at the (enzyme's) active site. They are found ubiquitously in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Serine proteases fall into two broad categories based on their structure: chymotrypsin-like (trypsin-like) or subtilisin-like. Classification The MEROPS protease classification system counts 16 superfamilies (as of 2013) each containing many families. Each superfamily uses the catalytic triad or dyad in a different protein fold and so represent convergent evolution of the catalytic mechanism. The majority belong to the S1 family of the PA clan (superfamily) of proteases. For superfamilies, P: superfamily, containing a mixture of nucleophile class families, S: purely serine proteases. superfamily. Within each superfamily, families are designated by their catalytic nucleophile, (S: serine proteases). Substrate specificity Serine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity and the molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes. Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes
A cytotoxic T cell (also known as TC, cytotoxic T lymphocyte, CTL, T-killer cell, cytolytic T cell, CD8+ T-cell or killer T cell) is a T cell, T lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) that kills cancer cells, cells that are infected by intracellular pathogens (such as viruses or bacteria), or cells that are damaged in other ways. Most cytotoxic T cells express T-cell receptors (TCRs) that can recognize a specific antigen. An antigen is a molecule capable of stimulating an immune response and is often produced by cancer cells, viruses, bacteria or intracellular signals. Antigens inside a cell are bound to MHC class I, class I MHC molecules, and brought to the surface of the cell by the class I MHC molecule, where they can be recognized by the T cell. If the TCR is specific for that antigen, it binds to the complex of the class I MHC molecule and the antigen, and the T cell destroys the cell. In order for the TCR to bind to the class I MHC molecule, the former must be accompanied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Killer
Natural killer cells, also known as NK cells or large granular lymphocytes (LGL), are a type of cytotoxic lymphocyte critical to the innate immune system that belong to the rapidly expanding family of known innate lymphoid cells (ILC) and represent 5–20% of all circulating lymphocytes in humans. The role of NK cells is analogous to that of cytotoxic T cells in the vertebrate adaptive immune response. NK cells provide rapid responses to virus-infected cell and other intracellular pathogens acting at around 3 days after infection, and respond to tumor formation. Typically, immune cells detect the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) presented on infected cell surfaces, triggering cytokine release, causing the death of the infected cell by lysis or apoptosis. NK cells are unique, however, as they have the ability to recognize and kill stressed cells in the absence of antibodies and MHC, allowing for a much faster immune reaction. They were named "natural killers" because of the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apoptosis
Apoptosis (from grc, ἀπόπτωσις, apóptōsis, 'falling off') is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, and mRNA decay. The average adult human loses between 50 and 70 billion cells each day due to apoptosis. For an average human child between eight and fourteen years old, approximately twenty to thirty billion cells die per day. In contrast to necrosis, which is a form of traumatic cell death that results from acute cellular injury, apoptosis is a highly regulated and controlled process that confers advantages during an organism's life cycle. For example, the separation of fingers and toes in a developing human embryo occurs because cells between the digits undergo apoptosis. Unlike necrosis, apoptosis produces cell fragments called apoptotic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Proteolysis Map
The Proteolysis MAP (PMAP) is an integrated web resource focused on proteases. Rationale PMAP is to aid the protease researchers in reasoning about proteolytic networks and metabolic pathways. History and funding PMAP was originally created at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, California. In 2004 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) selected a team led by Jeffrey W. Smith, to establish the Center on Proteolytic Pathways (CPP). As part of the NIH Roadmap for Biomedical research, the center develops technology to study the behavior of proteins and to disburse that knowledge to the scientific community at large. Focal point Proteases are a class of enzymes that regulate much of what happens in the human body, both inside the cell and out, by cleaving peptide bonds in proteins. Through this activity, they govern the four essential cell functions: differentiation, motility, division and cell death — and activate important extracellular episodes, such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
