Killer Cells in the Immune System
Understanding Killer Cells
Killer cells are immune cells or leukocytes that are essential components of the immune system and play a role in eliminating foreign bodies in the body, such as cancer cells and virus-infected cells.
There are 4 types of killer cells:
- Natural killer (NK) cells: NK cells are lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, and part of the innate immune system. They make up 5% to 20% of all lymphocytes in circulation and can immediately eliminate foreign bodies without prior learning or recognition.
- T cells (Killer T cells or Cytotoxic T cells): T cells are lymphocytes and essential components of the adaptive immune system. They make up 20% to 30% of all T cells in circulation and can eliminate foreign bodies after learning to recognize them.
- Natural killer T (NKT) cells: NKT cells are a subgroup of T cells with characteristics of both NK cells and T cells. They can produce and release signaling molecules called cytokines and eliminate foreign cells immediately like NK cells. They make up less than 1% of mononuclear white blood cells.
- Gamma delta T cells (γδ T cells): These are another subgroup of T cells with different protein groups (Receptors) on their cell surface compared to T cells. γδ T cells can recognize various antigens and play a role in eliminating infected cells and cancer cells early on. They make up about 1% to 5% of all T cells in circulation.
Alternatives to Restoration and Enhancement of the Standard Therapies
(Surgery, Radiation, Chemotherapy, etc)
Integrative killer cells
- Integrative killer cells consist of NK cells + CIK cells + T cells
The principle is to extract the patient’s blood, separate the PBMC cells, and culture them in a medical laboratory until a sufficient number is reached. These immune cells are then injected back into the patient to boost immunity. Since the patient’s own cells (Autologous cells) are used, there are fewer side effects, and hospitalization is not required. This approach enhances the effectiveness of standard cancer treatments by stimulating the body’s immune cells and balancing the immune system to eliminate cancer cells.
Components and Properties of Integrative Killer Cells
- Natural Killer cells or NK cells are the primary cells responsible for eliminating cancer cells and viruses.
- Cytokine-induced Killer cells or CIK cells are white blood cells stimulated by antigens and/or Cytokines. They can destroy cancer cells without relying on the Major Histocompatibility complex (MHC) mechanism.
- T cells are white blood cells that, when stimulated by an antigen, differentiate into helper T cells or CD4, or Cytotoxic T cells or CD8. They eliminate cancer cells, pathogens, viruses, and foreign substances.
Health Recuperation with Lymphokine-activated killer cells or LAK cells
This method involves culturing lymphocytes in a medical laboratory and stimulating them with IL-2. The cells then transform into Lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAK Cells), which help control the creation and function of T-cells, immune cells that target cancer cells. LAK Cells are used to restore or enhance the treatment of some cancers, such as in conjunction with Cancer Vaccine (WT1-DC). They can also be used to stimulate and increase the number of T-cells in patients found to have lower-than-normal T-cell levels.