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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Measurement of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Migration in the Context of Hepatic Tumor Cells
Published on: February 22, 2020
Strategies of natural killer cell recognition and signaling
C A Stewart1, E Vivier, M Colonna
1Lab of NK Cells and Innate Immunity, Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, INSERM-CNRS-Univ. Méditerranée, Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille, France. stewart@ciml.univ-mrs.fr
Abstract:
The participation of natural killer (NK) cells in multiple aspects of innate and adaptive immune responses is supported by the wide array of stimulatory and inhibitory receptors they bear. Here we review the receptor-ligand interactions and subsequent signaling events that culminate in NK effector responses. Whereas some receptor-ligand interactions result in activation of both NK cytotoxicity and cytokine production, others have more subtle effects, selectively activating only one pathway or having distinct context-dependent effects. Recent approaches offer ways to unravel how the integration of complex signaling networks directs the NK response.
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