How do killer cells work?
NK cells have the ability to recognize cells that are cancerous or have been infected by a virus. The strategy used by NK cells is a drastic onethey directly approach cancerous or virally-infected cells and release strong free radicals in their immediate environment. The free radicals create a hole in the cell, and the cell then dies. The dead cell is later eaten by another kind of immune cellthe macrophagesthe scavengers of the body. To leave the bloodstream and reach the tissues where they look for abnormal cells, NK cells have homing molecules on their surfaces to help detect infected cells and they use large molecules called adhesion molecules which allow them to crawl out of the blood, through the capillary wall, into the tissues. The Punch Line The team of research scientists at the Royal Victoria Hospital, led by Dr. Gitte S. Jensen, discovered that: Within two hours after eating 1.5 grams of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, an average of 40% of the blood NK cells (one billion) left th
