Application Note: A Novel Approach to Evaluating NK Cell Killing
Tumor-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that can induce NK cell-mediated antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) have proven to be successful against several types of cancer.
A decisive factor in evaluating the potency of any new tumor-specific Ab is its ability to induce NK cell-mediated ADCC against the targeted tumor cells. Complexity arises from donor cell variability and this modulates the degree of NK cell-mediated ADCC. Thus, in addition to assessing cytolytic potential, it is also important to characterize the number and activation state of the donor NK cells utilized in order to provide insight into the potential treatment efficacy.
Traditional cytotoxicity assays, such as Chromium-51 (Cr51) release or the use of fluorescent DNA binding vital dyes with standard flow cytometry, are time intensive and require additional downstream assays in order to characterize donor effector cells.
This application note highlights how the iQue® Human NK Cell Killing Kit collapses traditional workflows into a single assay platform by simultaneously evaluating:
- Target cell killing
- NK cell activation
- IFNg and Granzyme B secretion
- Up to six additional effector proteins and cytokines
