The antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) is a mechanism of cell-mediated immune defense whereby an effector cell of the immune system actively lyses a target cell, whose membrane-surface antigens have been bound by specific antibodies. In humans, ADCC is usually mediated by IgG. It is one of the mechanisms through which antibodies, as part of the humoral immune response, can act to limit and contain infection.