Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Measurement of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Migration in the Context of Hepatic Tumor Cells
06:55

Measurement of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Migration in the Context of Hepatic Tumor Cells

Published on: February 22, 2020

Oncogenic stress sensed by the immune system: role of natural killer cell receptors

David H Raulet1, Nadia Guerra

  • 1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Cancer Research Laboratory, 485 Life Science Addition, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. raulet@berkeley.edu

Nature Reviews. Immunology
|July 25, 2009
PubMed

Insights

This review explores how innate immune responses, particularly natural killer cells, detect and eliminate early cancer cells. Understanding these mechanisms is key to cancer immune surveillance and preventing tumor development.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Oncology
  • Cellular Biology

Background:

  • Tumorigenesis involves dysregulated pathways that interact with the innate immune system.
  • Innate immunity in tissues may eliminate early neoplastic cells, preventing tumor progression.
  • Natural killer (NK) cells and other lymphocytes expressing NK cell receptors play a role in cancer surveillance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the mechanisms by which cellular stresses during tumorigenesis are detected.
  • To summarize how these stresses lead to tumor cell recognition and elimination by innate immune cells.
  • To highlight the role of NK cells and related lymphocytes in early cancer detection and removal.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current scientific literature on tumorigenesis and innate immunity.
  • Analysis of mechanisms for detecting stress signals in neoplastic cells.
  • Examination of immune cell recognition and effector functions against tumor cells.

Main Results:

  • Dysregulated tumorigenesis pathways activate innate immune surveillance mechanisms.
  • Cellular stress associated with cancer triggers recognition by NK cells and other lymphocytes.
  • Immune cells can eliminate early neoplastic cells, impacting tumor initiation and progression.

Conclusions:

  • Innate immune responses are crucial for early cancer detection and elimination.
  • NK cell-mediated recognition and killing of stressed tumor cells are key to immune surveillance.
  • Further understanding of these pathways can inform cancer prevention and therapy strategies.

More Related Videos

Teasing Out the Interplay Between Natural Killer Cells and Nociceptor Neurons09:40

Teasing Out the Interplay Between Natural Killer Cells and Nociceptor Neurons

Published on: June 30, 2022

Two Flow Cytometric Approaches of NKG2D Ligand Surface Detection to Distinguish Stem Cells from Bulk Subpopulations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia05:24

Two Flow Cytometric Approaches of NKG2D Ligand Surface Detection to Distinguish Stem Cells from Bulk Subpopulations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Published on: February 21, 2021

Related Concept Videos

Cells of the Innate Immune Response01:28

Cells of the Innate Immune Response

The innate immune response is an immediate and non-specific response against pathogens, acting swiftly to prevent the spread of infections. The primary cells involved in this response are phagocytes and natural killer (NK) cells.
Phagocytes
Phagocytes police the peripheral tissues by removing cellular debris and responding to the invasion of foreign substances or pathogens. Many phagocytes attack and remove microorganisms even before lymphocytes detect them. The human body has two general...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response01:27

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response

Cytotoxic T cells are a vital component of the immune system. They have the remarkable ability to identify and target antigens on infected or abnormal cells. These antigens often originate from intracellular pathogens such as viruses or abnormal proteins cancer cells produce.
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Immune Surveillance by NK Cells and Phagocytes01:25

Immune Surveillance by NK Cells and Phagocytes

Immune surveillance is an integral part of the innate immune system, involving the continuous monitoring of peripheral tissues to detect and respond to pathogens, infected cells, or cancerous cells. This surveillance is conducted primarily by natural killer (NK) cells and phagocytes, which employ distinct but complementary mechanisms to identify and eliminate threats.
Natural Killer Cells: The Fast Responders
NK cells are large granular lymphocytes found in the blood and lymphatic system. These...
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway02:26

NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway

The transcription factor NF-κB was discovered in 1986 in the lab of Nobel laureate Professor David Baltimore, for its interaction with the immunoglobulin light chain enhancer in B-cells. After more than three decades of study, it is now evident that NF-κB regulates the expression of over 100 genes. Most of these genes play an essential role in the innate and adaptive immune responses as well as the inflammatory responses of animals.
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Mechanism
The heterodimer of NF-κB...
The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:17

The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

The extrinsic apoptotic pathway is initiated when extracellular death-inducing signals, such as specific cytokines, activate the death receptors expressed on the cell surface. The immune cells involved in this pathway are natural killer cells (NK cells) and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. NK cells are critical in innate immune response, while cytotoxic T-lymphocytes are associated with adaptive immune response. These cells recognize specific receptors expressed on the altered cells and activate...
Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens01:29

Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens

The immune system's response to viral infections is a complex and coordinated process involving natural killer (NK) cells, T cell-mediated responses, and antibody-mediated responses.
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...