In Vivo Assessment of NK Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity by Adoptively Transferred Splenocyte Rejection

NK cells are innate lymphocytes that are vital to clearance of virally infected or malignantly transformed cells. Assessment of the cytotoxic response is an important component of NK cell research and investigation of human disease. Standard assays of NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity of CD107a degranulation or ⁵¹Cr release assay utilize cultured or freshly isolated NK cell populations in vitro. In addition to requirements to maintain multiple target cell lines and radioactivity precautions in the case of ⁵¹Cr, these are in vitro evaluations of a complex in vivo function. Here, we describe the in vivo assessment of NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity through the adoptive transfer of splenocytes and their subsequent rejection. This protocol offers rapid, quantitative, and concurrent assessment of NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity against the prototypic NK stimulations of "missing-self" and "nonself."