Specific granule

Specific granule

Specific granules are a secretory vesicles found exclusively in cells of the immune system called granulocytes. They are also known as "secondary granules".

It is sometimes described as applying specifically to neutrophils,cite web |url=http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?specific+granule |title=Definition: specific granule from Online Medical Dictionary |format= |work= |accessdate=] , and sometimes the term is applied to other types of cells.cite journal |author=Okuda M, Takenaka T, Kawabori S, Ogami Y |title=Ultrastructural study of the specific granule of the human eosinophil |journal=J. Submicrosc. Cytol. |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=465–71 |year=1981 |month=July |pmid=7334549 |doi= |url=]

These granules store a mixture of cytotoxic molecules, including many enzymes and antimicrobial peptides, that are released by a process called degranulation following activation of the granulocyte by an immune stimulus.

Contents

Examples of cytotoxic molecule stored by specific granules in different granulocytes include:

* Neutrophil: alkaline phosphatase, lactoferrin, lysozyme, myeloperoxidase, NADPH oxidase

* Eosinophil: cathepsin, major basic protein

* Basophil: heparin, histamine (not directly cytotoxic)

Clinical significance

A specific granule deficiency can be associated with CEBPE. [OMIM|245480|SPECIFIC GRANULE DEFICIENCY; SGD]

References

External links

* [http://nic.sav.sk/logos/books/scientific/node16.html Neutrophil granules at sav.sk]


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