Identification and Functional Analysis of Human CD56^neg NK Cells by Flow Cytometry

Although scarce in the peripheral blood of healthy people, CD56^neg NK cells are known to be expanded in some pathological conditions. However, studies on CD56^neg NK cells had revealed contradictions, probably due to the lack of a specific NK cell surface marker that helps to identify this subset. This protocol details the step-by-step procedure for the identification and functional analysis of CD56^neg NK cells, providing an improved gating strategy for the selection of this intriguing population. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Orrantia et al. (2020).