NK sensitivity of neuroblastoma cells determined by a highly sensitive coupled luminescent method

The measurement of natural killer (NK) cells toxicity against tumor or virus-infected cells especially in cases with small blood samples requires highly sensitive methods. Here, a coupled luminescent method (CLM) based on glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase release from injured target cells was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of interleukin-2 activated NK cells against neuroblastoma cell lines. In contrast to most other methods, CLM does not require the pretreatment of target cells with labeling substances which could be toxic or radioactive. The effective killing of tumor cells was achieved by low effector/target ratios ranging from 0.5:1 to 4:1. CLM provides highly sensitive, safe, and fast procedure for measurement of NK cell activity with small blood samples such as those obtained from pediatric patients.