lymphokine-activated killer cells

Killer cell lymphocytes activated in the presence of interleukin-2 (IL-2). Lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAKs) are cytotoxic effector cells with an exceptionally wide target cell spectrum including normal and malignant cells of different origins. LAK cells exhibit a profound heterogeneity with regard to phenotype surface marker expression; it remains to be determined if they represent a unique cell lineage.