Atlas One · Host Biology · Scale 04 — Cellular

Cytotoxic T Cell

CD8+ αβ T lymphocyte; 20–35% of circulating T cells. Recognises MHC-I:peptide on all nucleated cells; kills virus-infected and tumour targets via perforin/granzyme B and Fas/FasL. Forms long-lived memory subsets (T_CM, T_EM, T_RM) and exhausts under chronic antigen exposure.

Also known as: CD8+ T cell, CTL, cytotoxic T lymphocyte, killer T cell, CD8 T cell

Scale 04 — CellularScale
draftStatus
2026-06-05Last Reviewed
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t-cytotoxic-cell

Cytotoxic T Cell

CD8+ αβ T lymphocyte; 20–35% of circulating T cells. Recognises MHC-I:peptide on all nucleated cells; kills virus-infected and tumour targets via perforin/granzyme B and Fas/FasL. Forms long-lived memory subsets (T_CM, T_EM, T_RM) and exhausts under chronic antigen exposure.