Recently it has been shown that the natural killer (NK)-target cell interaction results in an immediate burst of chemiluminescence. In this paper we investigated to apply chemilumines cence assay for the evaluation of human NK cell activities. Degrees of chemiluminescence were dependent on the concentration of lymphocytes or tar. get cells, but optimal concentrations of lymphocytes and target c...

Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes of the innate immune system that secrete cytokines upon activation and mediate the killing of tumor cells and virus-infected cells, especially those that escape the adaptive T cell response caused by the down regulation of MHC-I. The induction of cytotoxicity requires that NK cells contact target cells through adhesion receptors, and initiate activation...

We have studied the effects of hydrocortisone and adrenaline on natural killer (NK) cell activity and on the distribution of circulating lymphocyte subpopulations in 30 patients undergoing elective partial laminectomy under general anaesthesia. The patients were allocated to receive adrenaline (group 1, n = 11), hydrocortisone and adrenaline (group 2, n = 11) or neither hydrocortisone nor adren...

An increasingly large body of work in adults has shown that derangements in the immune system, a critical protector from disease, are associated with stress, bereavement, and depression (for review, see Schleifer et al 1986, Calabrese et al 1987). We (Kronfol et al 1989) and others (Mohl et al 1987; Nerozzi et al 1989; Irwin et al 1990) have reported lower natural killer (NK) cell activity, a p...

The effect of ascorbic acid on natural killer (NK) cells in the marine toad Bufo marinus has been analyzed in vitro and in vivo. Peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) which were pre-incubated with ascorbic acid for 1 h at different concentrations (1 X lo3, 1 X 104 and 1 X 105 M), exhibited a significant inhibition of NK cell activity (31.8 to 77.3 %). Similarly, injection of ascorbic acid into the ...