Acute exercise mobilizes NKT-like cells with a cytotoxic transcriptomic profile but does not augment the potency of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells.

ABSTRACT: CD3⁺/CD56⁺ Natural killer (NK) cell-like T-cells (NKT-like cells) represent <5% of blood lymphocytes, display a cytotoxic phenotype, and can kill various cancers. NKT-like cells can be expanded ex vivo into cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells, however this therapeutic cell product has had mixed results against hematological malignancies in clinical trials. The aim of this study was to determine if NKT-like cells mobilized during acute cycling exercise could be used to generate more potent anti-tumor CIK cells from healthy donors. An acute exercise bout increased NKT-like cell numbers in blood 2-fold. Single cell RNA sequencing revealed that exercise mobilized NKT-like cells have an upregulation of genes and transcriptomic programs associated with enhanced anti-

SUBMITTER: Zuniga TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9519182 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature