Natural killer cells: a promising immunotherapy for cancer

As a promising alternative platform for cellular immunotherapy, natural killer cells (NK) have recently gained attention as an important type of innate immune regulatory cell. NK cells can rapidly kill multiple adjacent cancer cells through non-MHC-restrictive effects. Although tumors may develop mu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of translational medicine 2022-05, Vol.20 (1), p.240-240, Article 240
Main Authors: Chu, Junfeng, Gao, Fengcai, Yan, Meimei, Zhao, Shuang, Yan, Zheng, Shi, Bian, Liu, Yanyan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Antigens
Antitumor agents
Cancer
Cancer therapies
CAR-NK cells
Care and treatment
Cell activation
Cell therapy
Chemotherapy
Clinical trials
Cytokines
Cytotoxicity
Drug resistance
Genetic engineering
Immunotherapy
Killer cells
Lymphatic system
Lymphocytes
Lymphocytes T
Major histocompatibility complex
Metastasis
Methods
Natural killer cells
NK cells
Pathogens
Patient outcomes
Radiation therapy
Review
Solid tumors
Toxicity
Tumors
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Summary:As a promising alternative platform for cellular immunotherapy, natural killer cells (NK) have recently gained attention as an important type of innate immune regulatory cell. NK cells can rapidly kill multiple adjacent cancer cells through non-MHC-restrictive effects. Although tumors may develop multiple resistance mechanisms to endogenous NK cell attack, in vitro activation, expansion, and genetic modification of NK cells can greatly enhance their anti-tumor activity and give them the ability to overcome drug resistance. Some of these approaches have been translated into clinical applications, and clinical trials of NK cell infusion in patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors have thus far yielded many encouraging clinical results. CAR-T cells have exhibited great success in treating hematological malignancies, but their drawbacks include high manufacturing costs and potentially fatal toxicity, such as cytokine release syndrome. To overcome these issues, CAR-NK cells were generated through genetic engineering and demonstrated significant clinical responses and lower adverse effects compared with CAR-T cell therapy. In this review, we summarize recent advances in NK cell immunotherapy, focusing on NK cell biology and function, the types of NK cell therapy, and clinical trials and future perspectives on NK cell therapy.
ISSN:1479-5876
1479-5876
DOI:10.1186/s12967-022-03437-0