NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy: from basic biology to clinical development

• Published in: Journal of hematology and oncology Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 7 - 17
• Main Authors: Liu, Sizhe, Galat, Vasiliy, Galat, Yekaterina, Lee, Yoo Kyung Annie, Wainwright, Derek, Wu, Jennifer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 06.01.2021; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Animals; Antigen presentation; Antigen processing; Antigens; Bone marrow; Cancer; Cancer immunotherapy; Care and treatment; Cell activation; Cells; Chemokines; Clinical trials; Clinical Trials as Topic; Cytokines; Cytotoxicity; Drug therapy; Hematology; Humans; Immunologic Surveillance; Immunotherapy; Immunotherapy, Adoptive - methods; iPSC; Killer cells; Killer Cells, Natural - cytology; Killer Cells, Natural - immunology; Killer Cells, Natural - transplantation; Leukemia; Ligands; Lymphocyte Activation; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Natural killer cells; Neoplasms - immunology; Neoplasms - therapy; NK cell; Oncology; Review; T cell receptors; T cells; Transplants & implants; Tumor Escape; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Clinical trials; Cancer immunotherapy; NK cell; iPSC
• ISSN: 1756-8722; 1756-8722
• DOI: 10.1186/s13045-020-01014-w

Natural killer (NK) cell is a specialized immune effector cell type that plays a critical role in immune activation against abnormal cells. Different from events required for T cell activation, NK cell activation is governed by the interaction of NK receptors with target cells, independent of antigen processing and presentation. Due to relatively unsophisticated cues for activation, NK cell has gained significant attention in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Many efforts are emerging for developing and engineering NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we provide our current understandings of NK cell biology, ongoing pre-clinical and clinical development of NK cell-based therapies and discuss the progress, challenges, and future perspectives.