Natural fiber exoskeletons of insects and arthropods. In shells and exoskeletons, the chitin fibers contribute to their hierarchical structure. In nature, pure chitin (100% acetylation) does not exist. It instead exists as a copolymer with chitin's deacetylated derivative, chitosan. When the acetylized composition of the copolymer is over 50% acetylated it is chitin. This copolymer of chitin and chitosan is a random or block copolymer. Chitosan is a deacetylated derivative of chitin. When the acetylized composition of the copolymer is below 50% it is chitosan. Chitosan is a semicrystalline “polymer of β-(1-4)-2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose”. One difference between chitin and chitosan is that chitosan is
Natural killer cell NK cell activity. Most of our current knowledge is derived from investigations of mouse splenic and human peripheral blood NK cells. However, in recent years tissue-resident NK cell populations have been described. These specialized NK-cell subsets can play a role in organ homeostasis. For example, NK cells are enriched in the human liver with a specific phenotype and take part in the control of liver fibrosis. Cancer Terms Natural killer cell Natural killer cells, or NK cells, are a type of cytotoxic lymphocyte critical to the innate immune system. The role NK cells play is analogous to that of cytotoxic