Cytotoxic CD8+ T Cells Join The Fight!

This is the third image in the sequential series created by Audra depicting various stages of adaptive immunity.

This is the third image in the sequential series created by Audra depicting various stages of adaptive immunity.

In this bioscape, the cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, which were primed to recognize very specific antigen peptides derived from tumor cells and then cloned within the lymph nodes, are seen arriving to the environment

of a cluster of tumor cells.

As depicted, once a CD8+ T cell makes contact with a tumor cell, it recognizes the specific antigen and is triggered to release an array of cytotoxic cytokines. These molecules are represented by the glowing green cloud of particles around the T cells in touch with tumor cells. This leads to the death of tumor cells via apoptosis, known as cellular suicide.

CD8+ T cells are also able to eliminate cells infected by viruses and certain intracellular parasites. The precise killing mechanism used by CD8+ T cells is fascinating.

Stay tuned for Audra’s next bioscape to see how this happens!

A close-up of a cytotoxic CD8+ T cell leaving a capillary to enter the tumor cell environment

A close-up of a tumor cell being destroyed via apoptosis or cell suicide