Bit late to the party but real quick can someone tell me the difference between Natural killer cells and cytotoxic T cells. I know cytotoxic T cells are specific yes but how or what sets them apart from cytotoxic T cells.
Cytotoxic t cells are specific in That they possess TCRs complimentary to a certain antigen. Once activated by t helper cells and dendritic cells, they will bind to their specific antigens when nestled in mhc class 1 receptors.
Nk cells don't bind to a specific antigen, rather they bind to the mhc class 1 receptor itself. When they bind to mhc class 1 they are suppressed, whereas if no mhc class 1 is present on the cell (like bacterium), they will carry out their function to kill the cell.
So cytotoxic T cells = specific antigen within mhc class 1
Natural killer cells = mhc class 1 protein itself