Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Advances in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Expressing Natural Killer Cells
11:08

Advances in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Expressing Natural Killer Cells

Published on: February 14, 2025

970

NK cells and solid tumors: therapeutic potential and persisting obstacles

Le Tong1, Carlos Jiménez-Cortegana2,3, Apple H M Tay1,4

  • 1Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Molecular Cancer
|November 2, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Natural killer (NK) cells show promise for leukemia but struggle in solid tumors. This review explores the tumor microenvironment

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Cellular Metabolism

Background:

  • Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes with cytotoxic potential, emerging as promising anticancer therapeutics.
  • While NK cell infusions yield positive results in leukemia patients, their efficacy against solid tumors remains limited.
  • Factors within the tumor microenvironment (TME) hinder NK cell infiltration, persistence, and activation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the metabolic and cellular barriers inhibiting NK cell activity in solid tumors.
  • To discuss strategies for overcoming these obstacles to enhance NK cell-based cancer therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of preclinical and clinical data.
  • Analysis of factors affecting NK cell function in the TME.
  • Exploration of therapeutic strategies to enhance NK cell efficacy.

Main Results:

  • The TME presents metabolic challenges (hypoxia, adenosine, ROS, prostaglandins) that impair NK cell function.
  • Cellular components within the TME (fibroblasts, macrophages, MDSCs, Tregs) actively suppress NK cell-mediated immunity.
  • Inadequate tumor infiltration and persistence are key limitations for NK cell therapy in solid malignancies.

Conclusions:

  • Overcoming metabolic and cellular suppressive mechanisms in the TME is crucial for improving NK cell therapy.
  • Developing strategies to enhance NK cell infiltration, activation, and persistence can lead to superior therapeutic outcomes in solid tumors.
Keywords:
Adoptive cell therapyCAR T cellsCGAS/STING1 signalingImmune checkpoint inhibitorsPD-L1TREG cells

More Related Videos

Flow Cytometry-based Assay for the Monitoring of NK Cell Functions08:17

Flow Cytometry-based Assay for the Monitoring of NK Cell Functions

Published on: October 30, 2016

21.2K
Dextran Enhances the Lentiviral Transduction Efficiency of Murine and Human Primary NK Cells08:42

Dextran Enhances the Lentiviral Transduction Efficiency of Murine and Human Primary NK Cells

Published on: January 15, 2018

11.2K

Related Concept Videos

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...
1.1K
Tumor Immunotherapy01:27

Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
639
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...
2.0K
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists01:28

Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists

Neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptors are distributed across the GI tract, vagal afferents, and key CNS regions including the central vomiting center and chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) Chemotherapy agents stimulate enterochromaffin cells in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract to release large amounts of substance P (SP). SP is a neuropeptide released by specific sensory nerves in response to many different stressors, including those in the GI mucosa affected by chemotherapy.  SP binds and activates...
246
Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
7.8K