Allison Bruce

T Cells Fighting Cancer, 2019

Digital illustration

A. K. Bruce Design
Brisbane, California, United States

Through a variety of mechanisms, cytotoxic T cells (blue) are able to distinguish cancer cells (red) from non-cancer cells by specific markers on their surfaces. The T cell, after recognizing a target cancer cell, delivers a mixture of toxins (yellow) to the cell. The chemical perforin punctures the cell membrane, and then granzyme induces apoptosis (cell death). The killer T cell then moves on, ready to fight again.