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Cytotoxicity is the quality of being poisonous to cells. This can be a chemical substance or an immune cell.
Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) describes the cell-killing ability of certain lymphocytes, which requires the target cell being marked by an antibody. Lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity, on the other hand, does not have to be mediated by antibodies.
Three groups of cytotoxic T lymphocytes are distingushed: antigenic (immunized) T lymphocytes, killer cells, and natural killer cells.
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