Author ORCID Identifier
0009000904835228
Month/Year of Graduation
5-2025
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Dr. Paul Denton
Abstract
Traditionally, when looking at natural killer (NK) cell killing efficacy, direct killing or antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) have been studied independently of one another. Our lab is focused on examining the impacts of immunotherapies on human NK cell functions. We quickly realized that we needed a way to control for human-to-human differences within our experiments. Thus, we developed an assay to look at both types of killing within the same human sample and called it the NK cell – simultaneous ADCC and direct killing assay (NK-SADKA; “1.0 version”). In our new study our goal is to optimize the NK-SADKA (“2.0 version”) by minimizing the number of tubes required to perform the immunotherapy assessment. Success in this effort will allow us to investigate more conditions with the limited quantity of human NK cells that can be obtained from a single blood product. We stained each cell line with a unique dye, so they can be differentiated in the flow cytometer such that both forms of killing efficacy can be determined in a single tube. When performing a comparison between NK-SADKA 1.0 and 2.0 to assess any changes in killing efficacy, we saw a significant increase in direct killing and no change in ADCC.
Recommended Citation
Weber, Isabelle, "OPTIMIZATION OF NATURAL KILLER CELL SIMULTANEOUS ADCC AND DIRECT KILLING ASSAY TO INCREASE DATA OUTPUT FOR EACH HUMAN DONOR" (2025). Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects. 341.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/university_honors_program/341