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Updated: May 24, 2026

A Flow Cytometry-Based Cytotoxicity Assay for the Assessment of Human NK Cell Activity
Published on: August 9, 2017
Age-related alterations to natural killer cell function
E Mariani1, C Alonso, R Solana
1Istituto di Ricerca Codivilla Putti, Laboratorio di Immunologia e Genetica, Bologna, Italy.
Abstract:
Human natural killer (NK) cells represent a heterogeneous lymphoid population involved in the recognition and lysis of tumor and virally infected cells. NK cells are defined by the expression of the IgG Fc receptor CD16 (FcγRIIIA) and/or CD56. NK cells do not rearrange immunoglobulin (Ig) or T-cell receptor (TCR) genes. Therefore, neither Ig nor the TCR-CD3 complex is expressed at the cell surface, except for the zeta (ζ) chain. Both markers, CD16 and CD56, have been used to analyze age-associated changes in the number of NK cells.
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