NICHD NIH
Killer T cells
Killer T cells are immune cells that find and destroy tumor cells and virus-infected cells.
In this immunofluorescence image, a killer T cell (blue, bottom) is engaging a target cell (center). A patch of signaling molecules (pink) that gathers at the site of cell-cell contact indicates that the killer T cell has identified a target. Lytic granules (red) that contain cytotoxic components travel along the microtubule cytoskeleton (green) to the contact site and are released, thus killing the target cell.
Credit: J. Lippincott-Schwartz, NICHD
Killer T cells
Killer T cells are immune cells that find and destroy tumor cells and virus-infected cells.
In this immunofluorescence image, a killer T cell (blue, bottom) is engaging a target cell (center). A patch of signaling molecules (pink) that gathers at the site of cell-cell contact indicates that the killer T cell has identified a target. Lytic granules (red) that contain cytotoxic components travel along the microtubule cytoskeleton (green) to the contact site and are released, thus killing the target cell.
Credit: J. Lippincott-Schwartz, NICHD