Elevated natural killer (NK) cell activity: a possible role in resistance to infection and malignancy in...

Splenectomized patients, who have had their spleens removed following trauma, have immune deficiencies. However, the risk of infection (with one exception--septicaemia caused mainly by Streptococcus pneumoniae) and malignancy in these patients appears to be comparable to that of healthy individuals. We propose that a compensatory increase in the activity of effector cells, such as natural killer cells (NK) and macrophages, may protect against infection and malignant diseases in splenectomized individuals.