Anti-Granzyme A/GZMA Antibody Picoband® Fluoro488 Conjugated

Granzyme A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GZMA gene. Cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cells share the remarkable ability to recognize, bind, and lyse specific target cells. They are though to protect their host by lysing cells bearing on their surface nonself antigens, usually peptides or proteins resulting from infection by intracellular pathogens. The protein described here is a T cell- and natural killer cell-specific serine protease that may function as a common component necessary for lysis of target cells by cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. GZMA induces caspase-independent apoptosis in a characteristic manner, except it causes a distinctive form of DNA damage: single-stranded DNA nicking. A target of GZMA is the SET complex, including HMGB2 and ANP32A .

Abundant protease in the cytosolic granules of cytotoxic T-cells and NK-cells which activates caspase-independent cell death with morphological features of apoptosis when delivered into the target cell through the immunological synapse. It cleaves after Lys or Arg. Cleaves APEX1 after 'Lys-31' and destroys its oxidative repair activity. Cleaves the nucleosome assembly protein SET after 'Lys-189', which disrupts its nucleosome assembly activity and allows the SET complex to translocate into the nucleus to nick and degrade the DNA. .

1. Fan, Z., Beresford, P. J., Oh, D. Y., Zhang, D., Lieberman, J.Tumor suppressor NM23-H1 is a granzyme A-activated DNase during CTL-mediated apoptosis, and the nucleosome assembly protein SET is its inhibitor.Cell 112: 659-672, 2003. Note: Erratum: Cell 115: 241 only, 2003. 2. Fink, T. M., Lichter, P., Wekerle, H., Zimmer, M., Jenne, D. E.The human granzyme A (HFSP, CTLA3) gene maps to 5q11-q12 and defines a new locus of the serine protease superfamily.Genomics 18: 401-403, 1993. 3. Martinvalet, D., Dykxhoorn, D. M., Ferrini, R., Lieberman, J.Granzyme A cleaves a mitochondrial complex I protein to initiate caspase-independent cell death.Cell 133: 681-692, 2008.