Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Expansion, Purification, and Functional Assessment of Human Peripheral Blood NK Cells
Published on: February 3, 2011
Elderly high NK responders are characterized by intensive proliferative response to PHA and Con A and optimal health
A Myśliwski1, J Myśliwska, T Chodnik
1Department of Histology, Medical School, Gdańsk, Poland.
Abstract:
In this paper we verify a hypothesis emerging from recent immunogerontological studies assuming that an elevated level of NK activity in the elderly may be regarded as a factor compensating for a decreased reactivity of T cells. According to this assumption a high NK activity should be associated with a poor reactivity of T cells. In our study the mitogenic responses of lymphocytes of the elderly and the young high and low NK responders to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and Concanavalin A (Con A) were measured. A high level of NK activity was not found, as would be expected from the hypothesis, to be associated with a poor reactivity to PHA and Con A. In contrast, the mitogenic response to PHA and Con A was intensive in both the young and old high NK responders while weak proliferative responses to T cell mitogens were characteristic of the young and old low NK responders. Thus, our results do not support the assumption of an association between a high NK activity and a low proliferative response to T cell mitogens in the elderly. We also found that both the elderly and the young high NK responders were characterized by an optimal health status.
Related Concept Videos
Cell-mediated Immune Responses
Cells of the Innate Immune Response
Phagocytes
Phagocytes police the peripheral tissues by removing cellular debris and responding to the invasion of foreign substances or pathogens. Many phagocytes attack and remove microorganisms even before lymphocytes detect them. The human body has two general...
Immune Surveillance by NK Cells and Phagocytes
Natural Killer Cells: The Fast Responders
NK cells are large granular lymphocytes found in the blood and lymphatic system. These...
Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...

