Fig. 3.

2B4.z-NK cells exhibit predominant cytotoxic activity against primary CD5⁺ hematologic malignant cells ex vivo. a Flow cytometry analysis showing the expression of CD5 on patients’ BMMNCs. b Representative flow cytometry analysis showing the proportion of CD107a⁺CD56⁺ cells after co-incubation with target cells as E:T = 1:3 for 5 h. c Quantification and statistical analysis of the data in b (n = 7; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001). d ELISA data showing the release of IFN-γ by NK cells after co-incubation with target cells for 12 h (n = 7; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001). e ELISA data showing the release of TNF-α by NK cells after co-incubation with target cells for 12 h (n = 7; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001). f Direct lysis of NK cells against target cells. Effector cells and target cells were co-incubated for 6 h at the indicated E:T ratio. Flow cytometry analysis of the percentage of CD5⁺CD56⁻ cells (left panel) and quantification and statistical analysis of residual cells (right panel) (n = 7; ***p < 0.001).VEC: VEC-NK; BB.z: BB.z-NK; 2B4.z: 2B4.z-NK