Making a Killer: Selecting the Optimal Natural Killer Cells for Improved Immunotherapies.

ABSTRACT: Over the past 20 years natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapies have emerged as a safe and effective treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory leukemia. Unlike T cell-based therapies, NK cells harbor an innate capacity to eliminate malignant cells without prior sensitization and can be adoptively transferred between individuals without the need for extensive HLA matching. A wide variety of therapeutic NK cell sources are currently being investigated clinically, including allogeneic donor-derived NK cells, stem cell-derived NK cells and NK cell lines. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that not all NK cells are endowed with the same antitumor potential. Despite advances in techniques to enhance NK cell cytotoxicity and persistence, the initial identification an

SUBMITTER: Barnes SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8578927 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature