Liu Sizhe, Dhar Payal, Wu Jennifer D
Department of Urology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
J Clin Med. 2019 Sep 19;8(9):1492. doi: 10.3390/jcm8091492.
Natural killer (NK) cells are critical immune components in controlling tumor growth and dissemination. Given their innate capacity to eliminate tumor cells without prior sensitization, NK-based therapies for cancer are actively pursued pre-clinically and clinically. However, recent data suggest that tumors could induce functional alterations in NK cells, polarizing them to tumor-promoting phenotypes. The potential functional plasticity of NK cells in the context of tumors could lead to undesirable outcomes of NK-cell based therapies. In this review, we will summarize to-date evidence of tumor-associated NK cell plasticity and provide our insights for future investigations and therapy development.
自然杀伤（NK）细胞是控制肿瘤生长和扩散的关键免疫成分。鉴于其无需预先致敏就能消除肿瘤细胞的固有能力，基于NK细胞的癌症疗法正在临床前和临床阶段积极开展研究。然而，最近的数据表明肿瘤可能会诱导NK细胞发生功能改变，使其极化成为促进肿瘤的表型。在肿瘤环境中，NK细胞潜在的功能可塑性可能导致基于NK细胞的疗法产生不良后果。在这篇综述中，我们将总结迄今为止关于肿瘤相关NK细胞可塑性的证据，并为未来的研究和治疗发展提供我们的见解。
