Renal cell tumors convert natural killer cells to a proangiogenic phenotype.

ABSTRACT: Natural killer (NK) cells are classically associated with immune surveillance and destruction of tumor cells. Inconsistent with this function, NK cells are found in advanced human tumors including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). NK cells with non-classical phenotypes (CD56⁺CD16^dim/neg; termed decidua NK (dNK) cells) accumulate at the maternal-fetal interface during embryo implantation. These dNK cells are poorly cytotoxic, proangiogenic, and facilitate placenta development. As similarities between embryo implantation and tumor growth exist, we tested the hypothesis that an analogous shift in NK cell phenotype and function occurs in RCC tumors. Our results show that peripheral NK (pNK) cells of RCC patients were uniformly CD56⁺CD16^bright, but lacked f

SUBMITTER: Guan Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7335666 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature