Week 4 Case Study: Natural Killer Cell
Deficiency
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook
Weekly Concepts
Minimum of 1 scholarly source
Scenario/Summary
Shanice wa
...
Week 4 Case Study: Natural Killer Cell
Deficiency
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook
Weekly Concepts
Minimum of 1 scholarly source
Scenario/Summary
Shanice was a vibrant 16-year-old who was enjoying her high school years. As a good
student, she loved attending school and woke every morning eager to start the day. A
popular girl, she was surrounded by many friends who all enjoyed each other's
company.
From an early age, Shanice had been susceptible to recurrent viral and bacterial
infections. No matter what she tried, she tended to have numerous infections every year
which put a damper on some of her social activities.
Recently, she had been experiencing recurrent lung infections, spending a week in the
hospital with pneumonia and recurrent herpes viral infections. Concerned over these
recurrent infections, Shanice was sent to an immunologist for further consultation.This study source was downloaded by 100000801755870 from CourseHero.com on 04-15-2022 14:13:17 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/94572485/Week-4-Case-Studydocx/
Tests were performed to evaluate the number and activities of her B-cells, T-cells, and
natural killer cells. Results showed that Shanice had low numbers and decreased
activity of her natural killer cells.
Keep in mind that natural killer cells are part of the innate immune response.
Deliverables
Answer the following questions and save your responses in a Microsoft Word
document. Provide a scholarly resource to support your answers.
1. Why are natural killer cells considered to be part of the innate immune response?
Because they lack antigen specific cell surface receptors.
2. What types of cells do natural killer cells act against?
3. Describe the process whereby natural killer cells kill other cells and the role of
macrophages in the process.
senescent cells, virally infected cells, and detecting early signs of cancer.
4. The Immunologist cautioned Shanice that she may be more susceptible to virally
induced cancers. Why did the Immunologist state this?
The immunologist stated this because Shanice has a history of viral herpes and other
viral infections, and she could get any of the following cancers caused by a viral
infection: HPV causing Cervical cancer, hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer and
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, EBV causing Burkitt lymphoma, Hepatitis B virus
causing liver cancer also and more. This is because having a reduced amount
of NK cells reduces the ability to detect cancer cells and defend the body
against viruses.
5. What treatments or other options does Shanice have to counteract the natural
killer cell deficiency?
She can use medication for immune system, like those that treat autoimmune
conditions. Another option is IV immunoglobulins, that assist with fighting viral
infections. Sometimes patients are put on prophylactic drugs to prevent serious
infections. Depending how severe she is, she could also get a hematopoietic
stem cell transplant (Orange, Jordan S., MD, PhD, 2013).This study source was downloaded by 100000801755870 from CourseHero.com on 04-15-2022 14:13:17 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/94572485/Week-4-Case-Studydocx/
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