Unleashing the power of NK cells in anticancer immunotherapy

Due to their physiological role in removing damaged cells, natural killer (NK) cells represent ideal candidates for cellular immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer. Thereby, the cytotoxicity of NK cells is regulated by signals on both, the NK cells as well as the targeted tumor cells, and the inte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany) Germany), 2022-03, Vol.100 (3), p.337-349
Main Authors: Vogler, Meike, Shanmugalingam, Senthan, Särchen, Vinzenz, Reindl, Lisa Marie, Grèze, Victoria, Buchinger, Leon, Kühn, Michael, Ullrich, Evelyn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apoptosis
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cell therapy
Cytotoxicity
Human Genetics
Immunotherapy
Internal Medicine
Molecular Medicine
Natural killer cells
Review
Reviews
Tumor cells
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Summary:Due to their physiological role in removing damaged cells, natural killer (NK) cells represent ideal candidates for cellular immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer. Thereby, the cytotoxicity of NK cells is regulated by signals on both, the NK cells as well as the targeted tumor cells, and the interplay and balance of these signals determine the killing capacity of NK cells. One promising avenue in cancer treatment is therefore the combination of NK cell therapy with agents that either help to increase the killing capacity of NK cells or sensitize tumor cells to an NK cell-mediated attack. In this mini-review, we present different strategies that can be explored to unleash the potential of NK cell immunotherapy. In particular, we summarize how modulation of apoptosis signaling within tumor cells can be exploited to sensitize tumor cells to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
ISSN:0946-2716
1432-1440
DOI:10.1007/s00109-021-02120-z