Natural killing (NK) may play an important role in immunosurveillance against virus-infected and malignant cells. This study has demonstrated that the NK susceptibility of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related cell lines increases with increased viral expression within the cells. This finding has implications for surveillance against, and treatment of, EBV-related disease. Additionally, preliminary studies of the NK status of head and neck cancer patients reveal a distinct clustering of the patients into either groups of high or low NK reactivity. This clustering phenomenon may have a correlation with patient prognosis.
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