Biology:Specific granule

From HandWiki

Specific granules are secretory vesicles found exclusively in cells of the immune system called granulocytes. It is sometimes described as applying specifically to neutrophils,[1] and sometimes the term is applied to other types of cells.[2]

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.

Specific granules are also known as "secondary granules".[3]

Contents

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

Clinical significance

A specific granule deficiency can be associated with CEBPE.[4]

References

  1. "Definition: specific granule from Online Medical Dictionary". http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?specific+granule. 
  2. "Ultrastructural study of the specific granule of the human eosinophil". J. Submicrosc. Cytol. 13 (3): 465–71. July 1981. PMID 7334549. 
  3. John P. Greer; Maxwell Myer Wintrobe (1 December 2008). Wintrobe's clinical hematology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-0-7817-6507-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=68enzUD7BVgC&pg=PA173. Retrieved 10 November 2010. 
  4. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) SPECIFIC GRANULE DEFICIENCY; SGD -245480

External links