Title: cytotoxin
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - cytotoxin
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13075
Status: current

Definition
Substance with a specific toxic effect on certain cells.

Note
Major cytotoxins made by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL, Tc) and natural killer (NK) cells that participate in the destruction of target cells include perforins, granzymes, and granulolysins.

Related Terms
- cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL, Tc): https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13072
- granzymes: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13186
- natural killer (NK) cells: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13499
- perforins: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13549
- target cells: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13727

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 1113. 'IUPAC glossary of terms used in immunotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 1154 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-11-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13075/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13075/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13075/xml

Citation: Citation: 'cytotoxin' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.13075
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Accessed: 2026-05-14T18:04:17+00:00