Natural killer (NK)cells ________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Natural killer (NK) cells are specialized lymphocytes of the innate immune system that can recognize and kill tumor cells and infected cells, without the need for prior activation or specific antigen recognition. Therefore, they can act quickly to eliminate cancer cells before the adaptive immune system is activated. NK cells are not cytotoxic T cells, which are part of the adaptive immune system and require antigen recognition by T cell receptors. NK cells are different from phagocytes, which are cells that engulf and digest pathogens and debris.

Natural Killer (NK)cells ________