What are NK cell disorders?

Also known as: NK cell deficiency, natural killer cell deficiency.

Natural killer, or NK cells are white blood (lymphocytes) cells which play an important role in the body’s immune system. They are part of a body’s mechanisms to control the spread of infection, destroy abnormal cells which develop in the body (like cancer cells), and when they function abnormally, they participate in the development of autoimmune diseases (where the body mistakenly attacks its own normal cells).

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM