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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Measurement of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Migration in the Context of Hepatic Tumor Cells
Published on: February 22, 2020
Interactions of human myeloid cells with natural killer cell subsets in vitro and in vivo
Obinna Chijioke1, Christian Münz
1Department of Viral Immunobiology, Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
In both human and mouse it has been recently realized that natural killer (NK) cells do not emerge from the bone marrow with full functional competence but rather acquire functions in interaction with antigen-presenting cells (APCs), primarily dendritic cells (DCs). Here we review the mechanisms and the consequences of this NK-cell preactivation, as well as discuss new experimental models that now allow investigating these interactions for human NK cells and their response to human pathogens in vivo. These investigations will allow harnessing NK cells during vaccination for improved innate and adaptive immunity.
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