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Evidence of perforin‐mediated cardiac myocyte injury in acute murine myocarditis caused by coxsackie virus B3
Author(s) -
Seko Yoshinori,
Shinkai Yoichi,
Kawasaki Akemi,
Yagita Hideo,
Okumura Ko,
Yazaki Yoshio
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.1711700109
Subject(s) - myocarditis , perforin , virus , viral myocarditis , virology , cardiac myocyte , myocyte , medicine , acute myocarditis , immunology , cardiology , cd8 , immune system
We have recently demonstrated that killer cells expressing a cytolytic factor, perforin, infiltrate the hearts of mice with acute viral myocarditis and may play an important role in the mechanism of myocardial damage. To clarify the mechanism of in vivo cardiac myocyte injury mediated by perforin, we investigated the release of perforin molecules from killer cells by immunoelectron microscopy and examined the circular lesions formed by perforin on the membrane of cardiac myocytes. We found that there was massive release of perforin molecules from the killer cells directly onto the surface of the cardiac myocytes. Furthermore, electron microscopy of ultrathin ventricular sections treated with trypsin revealed numerous circular lesions with the characteristics of perforin pores, in the membranes of cardiac myocytes. These findings provide the first direct evidence that killer cells injure cardiac myocytes by releasing perforin and may play a critical role in the myocardial damage occurring in acute viral myocarditis.