Understanding NK cell biology for harnessing NK cell therapies: targeting cancer and beyond

Front Immunol. 2023 Jul 18:14:1192907. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1192907. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Gene-engineered immune cell therapies have partially transformed cancer treatment, as exemplified by the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells in certain hematologic malignancies. However, there are several limitations that need to be addressed to target more cancer types. Natural killer (NK) cells are a type of innate immune cells that represent a unique biology in cancer immune surveillance. In particular, NK cells obtained from heathy donors can serve as a source for genetically engineered immune cell therapies. Therefore, NK-based therapies, including NK cells, CAR-NK cells, and antibodies that induce antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity of NK cells, have emerged. With recent advances in genetic engineering and cell biology techniques, NK cell-based therapies have become promising approaches for a wide range of cancers, viral infections, and senescence. This review provides a brief overview of NK cell characteristics and summarizes diseases that could benefit from NK-based therapies. In addition, we discuss recent preclinical and clinical investigations on the use of adoptive NK cell transfer and agents that can modulate NK cell activity.

Keywords: aging; cancer; chimeric antigen receptor; immune surveillance; immunotherapy; natural killer cell.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Genetic Therapy
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy / methods
  • Immunotherapy, Adoptive / methods
  • Killer Cells, Natural*
  • Neoplasms*

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea Government (MSIT) (No. 2016R1C1B3009116; 2021R1C1C1011899), National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) Aging Convergence Research Center (CRC22011-300), and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) Research Initiative Program (KGS1142322; KGM5502322).