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Updated: May 2, 2026

Measurement of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Migration in the Context of Hepatic Tumor Cells
Published on: February 22, 2020
Tissue-resident natural killer cells
Wayne M Yokoyama1, Dorothy K Sojka2, Hui Peng3
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 Rheumatology Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 yokoyama@dom.wustl.edu.
Abstract:
Natural killer (NK) cells kill infected and tumor cells and produce cytokines that modulate other immune cells. However, most of our current knowledge is derived from investigations of mouse splenic and human peripheral blood NK cells, "conventional" NK cells. Herein we discuss recent studies indicating that the liver contains two subpopulations of NK cells, one of which is liver-resident and bears distinct markers from another liver subpopulation that resembles conventional NK cells. Thus, the liver and potentially other organs contain tissue-resident NK cells that may differ from conventional NK cells in terms of origin, development, and/or function.
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