Natural killer cell immunotherapy for cancer: a new hope

Cytotherapy. 2008;10(8):775-83.

Natural killer cell immunotherapy for cancer: a new hope.

Srivastava S, Lundqvist A, Childs RW.

Source

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Abstract

Recently there has been a substantial gain in our understanding of the role NK-cells play in mediating innate host immune responses. Although NK cells have long been known to mediate antigen independent tumor cytotoxicity, the therapeutic potential of NK cell-based immunotherapy has yet to be realized. Manipulating the balance between inhibitory and activating NK receptor signals, sensitization of tumor target cells to NK cell-mediated apoptosis, and recent discoveries in NK-cell receptor biology have fueled translational research that has led to clinical trials investigating a number of novel methods to potentiate NK cytotoxicity against human malignancies.