Question

Other cells, called __________________________________ cells, patrol your blood and lymph looking for pathogens and are unique because they can kill __________________________ cells if they are infected with viruses or have become cancerous. A normal healthy human cell has a protein on its surface called MHC1. An infected one doesn't have this. Natural killer cells detect this, poke the cell with an enzyme, and trigger _______________ (programmed cell death).

Answer 1

Natural killer (NK) cells are white blood cells that eliminate infected or cancerous cells by detecting abnormal MHC class I molecules and inducing apoptosis.

Step-by-step explanation:

Other cells, called natural killer (NK) cells, patrol your blood and lymph looking for pathogens and are unique because they can kill infected cells if they are infected with viruses or have become cancerous. A normal healthy human cell has a protein on its surface called MHC1. An infected one doesn't have this. Natural killer cells detect this, poke the cell with an enzyme, and trigger apoptosis (programmed cell death).

Natural killer cells are a type of lymphocyte that are part of the innate immune system. They are specialized in recognizing and destroying cells that have abnormal or absent MHC class I molecules on their surface, which is a sign of viral infection or cancerous transformation. When an NK cell encounters an infected or cancerous cell, it releases proteins that initiate apoptosis, leading to the elimination of the pathological cell.