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A method is described for the measurement of human natural killer cell activity using heparinized whole blood in a 51chromium release assay. Fractionation-reconstitution experiments showed that the cytotoxic activity was abolished by removal of the Fc receptor bearing lymphocytes, but not by the elimination of monocytes and granulocytes. Autologous or pooled plasma was not found to possess inherent cytolytic activity. By analogy to an enzyme kinetic reaction, the results were expressed as kinetic lytic units (KLU) which were defined as the maximum number of target cells that could be lysed per unit time per milliliter of whole blood. The buffy coat cytotoxicity (BCC) assay is quick, easy to perform, and suitable for screening and monitoring of natural cytotoxicity. Since this methodology preserves the actual concentration of natural killer cells, it may represent a truer reflection of in vivo events.
Ottenhof et al. (Fri,) studied this question.