Figures & data
Figure 1. The ‘kiss of death’ can vary in length, intensity and consequence. Wild type CTL or NK cell (top panel) deliver perforin and granzymes and kill target cell by caspase-dependent apoptosis. In this instance, the immune synapse is short lived, as a caspase-dependent signal indicates that cell death is inevitable, and the killer cell detaches in search of a further target. When the killer cell has impaired perforin delivery or function (such as in FHL2), or caspases are not efficiently activated (bottom panel), the cells remain in contact and inflammatory cytokines are secreted from CTL/NK in abundance.
