BCG priming followed by a novel interleukin combination activates Natural Killer cells to selectively proliferate and become anti-tumour long-lived effectors.

ABSTRACT: The short-lived nature and heterogeneity of Natural Killer (NK) cells limit the development of NK cell-based therapies, despite their proven safety and efficacy against cancer. Here, we describe the biological basis, detailed phenotype and function of long-lived anti-tumour human NK cells (CD56^highCD16⁺), obtained without cell sorting or feeder cells, after priming of peripheral blood cells with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Further, we demonstrate that survival doses of a cytokine combination, excluding IL18, administered just weekly to BCG-primed NK cells avoids innate lymphocyte exhaustion and leads to specific long-term proliferation of innate cells that exert potent cytotoxic function against a broad range of solid tumours, mainly through NKG2D. Strikingly, a N

SUBMITTER: Felgueres MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11161620 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature