biosights: December 19, 2016

How NK cells avoid collateral damage

Before secreting their lytic granules to kill transformed or virally infected cells, natural killer cells converge these lysosome-related organelles around the microtubule-organizing center. Hsu et al. reveal that, by promoting the granules' directed secretion at the immunological synapse, convergence both enhances the efficiency of target cell killing and limits the death of healthy bystander cells. This biosights episode presents the paper by Hsu et al. from the December 19th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Jordan Orange (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

Subscribe to biosights via iTunes or RSS View biosights archive

The Rockefeller University Press biosights@rockefeller.edu