Too much of a good thing: In case of natural killer cells
less is sometimes more
As part of the innate immune system natural killer cells (NK
cells) play an important role in immune responses. For a long time they have
been known as the first line of defense in the fight against infectious
diseases. Therefore, researchers assumed that the body needs as many active NK
cells as possible. However, scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection
Research (HZI) have now shown that the principle “the more the better” does not
apply to this type of immune cells.