Method Article

Natural Killer Cell Isolation from Liver Tissue for Selective Expansion

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July 8th, 2025

In This Article

Abstract

Source: Ma, M., et al. Natural Killer (NK) and CAR-NK Cell Expansion Method using Membrane Bound-IL-21-Modified B Cell Line. J. Vis. Exp. (180), e62336, doi:10.3791/62336 (2022).

This video demonstrates the isolation of lymphocytes, including natural killer cells or NK cells, from human liver tissue for selective expansion. Enzymatic and mechanical digestion, followed by density gradient separation, promotes lymphocyte isolation, including NK cells. The collected lymphocytes can be further used for the selective expansion of NK cells.

Protocol

All procedures involving human participants have been performed in compliance with the institutional, national, and international guidelines for human welfare and have been reviewed by the local institutional review board.

1. NK cell expansion from liver tissues (Day 0), as shown in Figure 1.

NOTE: Initial cell number and viability are strongly correlated with the time since organ removal and the initial tissue sample amount. However, if tissues are placed in 30 mL of Hank's Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) and kept on ice or in the fridge at 4 °C overnight, NK cells can still be....

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Results

Tissue processing diagram for NK cell expansion; digestion, separation, media layering, culture steps.
Figure 1: Diagram of NK cell expansion from solid human organ samples. Briefly, the obtained human liver samples are minced into small cubes for mechanical digestion. Dissociated cells are then isolated using PVP-coated silica and Lymphocyte Separatio.......

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Disclosures

No conflicts of interest declared.

Materials

List of materials used in this article
NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
Collagenase IVSigmaC4-22-1GFor TILs isolation
Hank's Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS - w/o calcium or magnesium)ThermoFisher14170120For TILs isolation
Lymphocyte Separation MediaCorning25-072-CVFor TILs isolation
Phosphate-Buffered Saline (PBS)Corning21-040-CVFor transduction
R-10 media<br/> Ingredients: RPMI 1640VWR45000-404
R-10 media<br/> Ingredient: L-glutamineVWR45000-3041%
R-10 media<br/> Ingredient: Penicillin StreptomycinVWR45000-6521%
R-10 media<br/> Ingredient: Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)Corning35-010-CV10%

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Tags

Natural Killer CellsLiver Tissue IsolationEnzymatic DigestionMechanical DissociationDensity Gradient SeparationLymphocyte SeparationFicoll GradientPVP Coated SilicaCollagenase IVCell Culture Expansion

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