Human Cord Blood CD56+ Nk Cells

CD56+ Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic effector lymphocytes of the innate immune system that play key role in rejection of tumors and microbial infections. NK cells inhibit the spread of the infections and tumors by releasing perforin and granzymes that cause the target cell to die through apoptosis. 

NK cells provide rapid responses to viral-infected cells, acting at around 3 days after infection, and respond to tumor formation. Typically, immune cells detect major histocompatibility complex (MHC) presented on infected cell surfaces, triggering cytokine release, causing lysis or apoptosis. NK cells are unique, however, as they have the ability to recognize stressed cells in the absence of antibodies and MHC, allowing for a much faster immune reaction. They were named "natural killers" because of the initial notion that they do not require activation to kill cells that are missing "self" markers of MHC class 1. This role is especially important because harmful cells that are missing MHC I markers cannot be detected and destroyed by other immune cells, such as T lymphocyte cells.

Our Human Cord Blood CD56+ NK cells are isolated from cord blood mononuclear cells by immunomagnetic selection. All cord blood is collected in Citric Phosphate with Dextrose Buffer (CPD) from fully consented IRB approved donors that are tested negative for HIV, HBV and HCV.