Measurement of Natural-Killer Cell Lytic Activity of Adenovirus-Infected or Adenovirus-Transformed Cells

Natural-killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes that do not express the CD3 T-cell receptor but do express the CD16 (FcγRIII) and CD56 (isoform of NCAM) in humans or NK1.1 antigen in certain strains of mice. NK cells display spontaneous lytic activity but do not exhibit immunological memory. NK cells are important mediators of antiviral and antitumor immunity. Standard NK cytolysis assays measure the ability of NK cells to kill certain target cells (tumor cells, virally infected cells) in short-term (usually 4–6 h) cytolysis assays. This chapter details the use of the NK cell cytolysis assay using polyclonal populations of human or rodent NK cells.