Cell Killing Assays

Animal-Derived T Cells: Incorporate T cells from animal models, such as mouse T cells, to study cross-species immunological responses or preclinical models.

Human T Cells: Use patient-derived autologous T cells for personalized assessments or T cells from healthy donors for standardized allogeneic testing.

Engineered T Cells: Incorporate genetically modified T cells, such as CAR-T cells, to evaluate specific immune responses.

T Cell Subsets: Isolate and study specific subsets, including CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and CD4+ helper T cells.

Tumor Cell Lines: Assess T-cell cytotoxicity against diverse cancer-cell lines.

Primary Tumor Cells: Use patient-derived tumor cells to obtain more clinically relevant results.

Custom Targets: Specify particular cell types or engineered target cells to match research needs.

Flow Cytometry: Quantify cell death, apoptosis and immune-cell activation.

IncuCyte Live-Cell Imaging: Monitor real-time cell killing and proliferation.

Luminescence Assays: Measure ATP levels as an indicator of cell viability.

Cytokine Analysis: Assess cytokine release, including IFN-γ and TNF-α, to evaluate T-cell activation and function.

Our PBMC Killing Assay service evaluates the cytotoxic activity of PBMCs against target cells. Because PBMCs contain T cells, B cells, NK cells and monocytes, they provide a physiologically relevant model for studying how multiple immune-cell populations collectively contribute to elimination of cancerous or infected cells.

Flow Cytometry: Quantify killing efficiency and activation of specific immune-cell subsets within PBMCs.

IncuCyte Live-Cell Imaging: Monitor real-time cytotoxicity and immune-cell interactions over time.

Figure. Evaluation of METTL3 inhibitor (METTL3i) efficacy in enhancing PBMC-mediated tumor-cell killing using the IncuCyte system. Images compare SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells alone and in co-culture with PBMCs, with and without METTL3i treatment. Tumor-cell viability is quantified over 72 hours, showing the effect of METTL3i alone and its enhanced cytotoxic effect in combination with PBMCs. Green fluorescence marks live cells and captures the dose-dependent response.

Our NK Cell Killing Assay service evaluates the natural cytotoxicity of NK cells and their ability to mediate Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC). NK cells can directly target and eliminate virally infected or tumor cells without prior sensitization, making this assay useful for cancer immunotherapy and infectious-disease research.

Direct NK Cell Cytotoxicity: Assess the intrinsic ability of NK cells to recognize and kill target cells, including tumor or virally infected cells, through mechanisms involving perforin and granzyme release.

ADCC: Evaluate enhanced NK-cell cytotoxicity when antibodies bind antigens on target cells. NK cells recognize the Fc region of these antibodies through Fcγ receptors such as CD16 and are activated to kill target cells more efficiently.

High-Content Imaging: Obtain detailed, multiparametric data on cell killing, morphology changes and NK-cell–target-cell interactions.

IncuCyte Live-Cell Imaging: Monitor real-time cytotoxicity and visualize NK-cell interactions with target cells over time.

Luminescence Assays: Measure ATP levels as an indicator of cell viability and NK-cell-mediated killing.

Flow Cytometry: Analyze NK-cell phenotype and cytotoxicity by measuring markers such as CD56 and CD16, and quantify killing efficiency through dose-response curves for direct cytotoxicity and ADCC.