Title: killer cell
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - killer cell
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13361
Status: current

Definition
Cell that displays cell-mediated cytotoxicity, including cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL, Tc), natural killer (NK) cells, and natural killer T (NKT) cells. Some also consider activated macrophages, monocytes, and interferon (IFN)-activated neutrophils to be killer cells.

Related Terms
- cell-mediated cytotoxicity: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/12993
- cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL, Tc): https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13072
- macrophages: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13424
- monocytes: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13467
- natural killer (NK): https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13499
- natural killer T (NKT): https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13501
- neutrophils: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13510

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 1113. 'IUPAC glossary of terms used in immunotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 1199 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-11-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13361/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13361/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13361/xml

Citation: Citation: 'killer cell' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.13361
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-07-29T18:51:22+00:00