The Molecules of HIV
killer T cell
An article from "The Molecules of HIV" (c) Dan Stowell
www.mcld.co.uk/hiv
www.mcld.co.uk/hiv
Killer T cells, also known as cytotoxic T cells, police the human body, looking for cells showing signs of infection and destroying them.
In the following diagram, a virus enters a cell. Viral and other peptides are processed by the cell and are "passed" out to the outside of the cell, held on the outside by HLA protein.
A cytotoxic T cell then binds to this cell via an interaction between CD8, TCR, and HLA. If the peptide presented to the cytotoxic T cell by HLA fits the cleft in TCR, then a chemical signal is triggered within the T cell which causes it to attack and destroy the infected cell.
Written by
Dan Stowell
(©2002-2006)
