Killer cell

As killer cells of the immune system called the altered body cells - pathogen-infected cells or cancer cells - to recognize and cause their death. These are either cytotoxic T cells or natural killer cells . Both cell types use similar mechanisms, but recognize the changed body cells on the basis of completely different characteristics.

Every killer cell has many receptors of the same type on its surface. A killer cell only ever recognizes one type of antigen, namely the one that fits on its receptor. This is why the immune system has a large number of different killer T cells at its disposal to find all conceivable forms of antigens. At the command of the T helper cells, T killer cells destroy the body's own cells in which pathogens have lodged.

In oncology , NK or T cells are specifically “engaged” by antibodies to attack cancer cells. The receptors of the killer cells are used for this, especially the CD3 receptors of the T cells. In the case of NK cells, the FcyRIII receptor is more likely to be addressed.

literature

Bärbel Häcker: Immunology for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons, 2014, ISBN 978-3-527-66785-7 .
Charles Janeway , Paul Travers, Mark Walport, Mark Shlomchik: Immunology. 5th edition, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-8274-1079-7 ; Online version in English, 5th edition, 2001 .

Individual evidence

↑ Melvyn Little: Antibodies in the Fight against Cancer: Fundamentals, Principles, and Applications. Springer, 2015, ISBN 978-3-662-45114-4 , p. 62.

[1] Melvyn Little: Antibodies in the Fight against Cancer: Fundamentals, Principles, and Applications. Springer, 2015, ISBN 978-3-662-45114-4 , p. 62.