NK cell depletion diminish tumour-specific B cell responses

Natural killer (NK) cells can exercise immediate cytotoxicity against malignant cells and thus far modulate the development of tumour directed T cell immunity. To investigate the impact of NK cells on the development of tumour directed B cell immunity mice were immunised with IMR5-75 human neuroblastoma cells with or without prior in vivo NK cell depletion. Flow cytometry analyses gave evidence for an impaired IgG response against the cells immunised with. Dissection of Th1 (IgG2a) and Th2 (IgG1) oriented B cell responses revealed Th1 responses as primarily affected, while Th2 oriented B cell responses as measured by flow cytometry and GD2 ganglioside-specific ELISA were enforced. The data reveal an unexpected impact of NK cells on the development of tumour directed B cell responses. Consequently, NK cell function has also to be taken into account when developing B cell-based cancer immunotherapy.