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Sweet Killers: NK Cells Need Glycolysis to Kill Tumors

Batya Isaacson1, Ofer Mandelboim1

  • 1The Concern Foundation Laboratories at the Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Hebrew University Medical School, IMRIC, Jerusalem, Israel.

Cell Metabolism
|August 9, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Progressing tumors impair natural killer (NK) cells by reducing their energy production (glycolysis). This metabolic dysfunction diminishes NK cell cancer-fighting ability, leading to immune evasion.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Metabolic pathways
  • Cancer biology

Background:

  • Natural killer (NK) cells are crucial innate immune cells for anti-cancer surveillance.
  • NK cell function is vital for controlling tumor progression.
  • Metabolic reprogramming is increasingly recognized in immune cell function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the metabolic changes in NK cells during tumor progression.
  • To understand how tumor-induced metabolic alterations affect NK cell cytotoxicity.
  • To identify mechanisms underlying NK cell dysfunction in the tumor microenvironment.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of NK cell metabolism in tumor-bearing models.
  • Assessment of glycolytic flux in NK cells.
  • Evaluation of NK cell cytotoxicity and phenotype.

Main Results:

  • Tumor progression significantly reduces the glycolytic capacity of NK cells.
  • Impaired glycolysis leads to decreased NK cell cytotoxicity against tumor cells.
  • NK cells in progressing tumors exhibit a dysfunctional phenotype.

Conclusions:

  • Tumors actively suppress NK cell metabolism to evade immune detection.
  • Targeting NK cell metabolism could be a therapeutic strategy to enhance anti-cancer immunity.

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