Null cell

A null cell is a large agranular lymphocyte that develops inside the bone marrow.[1] Null cells lack the common characteristic surface markers that can be found in mature B-cells and T-cells.[1] They are rapidly stimulated in the presence of pathogens like viruses and attack viral-infected or tumor cells in a non MHC-restricted manner.[1] Null cells make up a small proportion of the lymphocytes that can be found in an organism. The term null cell is no longer commonly used; they are normally referred to as natural killer (NK) cells or killer cells.[1]

References
  1. null cell. (n.d.) Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. (2009). Retrieved November 29, 2015 from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/null+cell


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.