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Assessment of Natural Killer (NK) and NKT Cells in Murine Spleens and Livers

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Alcohol

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 447))

Summary

Natural killer (NK) cells part of innate immunity. NK cells have been assigned numerous functions, including the ability to serve as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. In evaluating NK cell function, two pathways need to be examined: their ability to kill certain tumors spontaneously and their ability to secrete cytokines, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), in particular. Although NK cells are distinct from T lymphocytes, a new lymphocyte subset, termed NKT cell, has been described. NKT cells express surface markers that are unique to NK cells (e.g., NK1.1) as well as markers that are unique to T cells (e.g., CD3). Most NKT cells recognize glycolipids and are thought to play an important immunoregulatory role. This chapter will detail the methodology needed for examination of NK and NKT cells in mice.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by VA Merit Review and by Grant AA014418 from the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Iowa City VA Medical Center and the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Michael R. Shey MS & Zuhair K. Ballas MD

Authors
  1. Michael R. Shey MS
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  2. Zuhair K. Ballas MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Gastroenterology and Pathobiology Cleveland Clinic and Department of Nutrition, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA

    Laura E. Nagy

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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Shey, M.R., Ballas, Z.K. (2008). Assessment of Natural Killer (NK) and NKT Cells in Murine Spleens and Livers. In: Nagy, L.E. (eds) Alcohol. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 447. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-242-7_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-242-7_18

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-906-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-242-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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