lymphokine-activated killer cells

Definition / meaning of lymphokine-activated killer cells

Killer cell lymphocytes activated in the presence of interleukin-2 (IL-2). Lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAKs) are cytotoxic effector cells with an exceptionally wide target cell spectrum including normal and malignant cells of different origins. LAK cells exhibit a profound heterogeneity with regard to phenotype surface marker expression; it remains to be determined if they represent a unique cell lineage.

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Source(s):

The Web site of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov/)

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