
Exploring the NK cell platform for cancer immunotherapy
Author(s) -
Jacob A Myers,
Jeffrey S. Miller
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nature reviews. clinical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 12.214
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1759-4782
pISSN - 1759-4774
DOI - 10.1038/s41571-020-0426-7
Subject(s) - nk 92 , immunotherapy , interleukin 21 , lymphokine activated killer cell , cancer immunotherapy , immunology , interleukin 12 , cancer research , janus kinase 3 , chimeric antigen receptor , cell therapy , cytotoxic t cell , natural killer cell , medicine , biology , immune system , stem cell , t cell , microbiology and biotechnology , in vitro , biochemistry
Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes of the innate immune system that are capable of killing virally infected and/or cancerous cells. Nearly 20 years ago, NK cell-mediated immunotherapy emerged as a safe and effective treatment approach for patients with advanced-stage leukaemia. Subsequently, the field of NK cell-based cancer therapy has grown exponentially and currently constitutes a major area of immunotherapy innovation. In general, the development of NK cell-directed therapies has two main focal points: optimizing the source of therapeutic NK cells for adoptive transfer and enhancing NK cell cytotoxicity and persistence in vivo. A wide variety of sources of therapeutic NK cells are currently being tested clinically, including haploidentical NK cells, umbilical cord blood NK cells, stem cell-derived NK cells, NK cell lines, adaptive NK cells, cytokine-induced memory-like NK cells and chimeric antigen receptor NK cells. A plethora of methods to augment the cytotoxicity and longevity of NK cells are also under clinical investigation, including cytokine-based agents, NK cell-engager molecules and immune-checkpoint inhibitors. In this Review, we highlight the variety of ways in which diverse NK cell products and their auxiliary therapeutics are being leveraged to target human cancers. We also identify future avenues for NK cell therapy research.