natural killer cell

Definition of natural killer cell

: a large granular lymphocyte capable especially of destroying tumor cells or virally-infected cells without prior exposure to the target cell and without having it presented with or marked by a histocompatibility antigen

— called also NK cell

Examples of natural killer cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That's because touching increases the natural killer cells that help us fight off illnesses, said Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine. — Lz Granderson, ajc, "Many of us haven't touched another human for weeks. What's the price of no contact?," 16 Apr. 2020 Specifically, exercise helps to recruit highly specialized immune cells—such as natural killer cells and T cells—find pathogens (like viruses) and wipe them out. — Mallory Creveling, Health.com, "Does Exercise Boost Immunity? What to Know About Working Out Right Now, According to Experts," 16 Apr. 2020 March 26, 2020 That’s because touching increases the natural killer cells that help us fight off illnesses, said Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. — Los Angeles Times, "Many of us haven’t touched another human for weeks. What’s the price of no contact?," 15 Apr. 2020 The innate immune system, composed of white blood cells such as macrophages, natural killer cells and neutrophils, was supposed to have no such memory. — Jop De Vrieze, Science | AAAS, "Can a century-old TB vaccine steel the immune system against the new coronavirus?," 23 Mar. 2020 An important immunotherapeutic approach uses natural killer cells. — Robert J. Hariri, WSJ, "Include ‘Natural Killer’ Cells in the Covid-19 Arsenal," 13 Mar. 2020 From Killers to Builders If macrophages are the greatest multitaskers in the immune system, then natural killer cells are the most poorly named. — Quanta Magazine, "Immune Cell Assassins Reveal Their Nurturing Side," 11 Feb. 2020 The researchers also tweaked the natural killer cells in two other ways. — Linda Carroll, NBC News, "Immune therapy tweak offers new hope to blood cancer patients," 5 Feb. 2020 Another big advantage was that the natural killer cells from one patient could be given to another without any tissue matching. — Linda Carroll, NBC News, "Immune therapy tweak offers new hope to blood cancer patients," 5 Feb. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'natural killer cell.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Natural killer cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/natural%20killer%20cell. Accessed 26 Nov. 2020.

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