Innate Pharma Research Laboratories, Innate Pharma, Marseille, France.
Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, INSERM, Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, Marseille, France.
Nature. 2024 Feb;626(8000):727-736. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06945-1. Epub 2024 Feb 21.
Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes of the innate immune system. A key feature of NK cells is their ability to recognize a wide range of cells in distress, particularly tumour cells and cells infected with viruses. They combine both direct effector functions against their cellular targets and participate in the generation, shaping and maintenance of a multicellular immune response. As our understanding has deepened, several therapeutic strategies focused on NK cells have been conceived and are currently in various stages of development, from preclinical investigations to clinical trials. Here we explore in detail the complexity of NK cell biology in humans and highlight the role of these cells in cancer immunity. We also analyse the harnessing of NK cell immunity through immune checkpoint inhibitors, NK cell engagers, and infusions of preactivated or genetically modified, autologous or allogeneic NK cell products.
自然杀伤 (NK) 细胞是先天免疫系统的淋巴细胞。NK 细胞的一个关键特征是其能够识别多种处于困境中的细胞，特别是肿瘤细胞和感染病毒的细胞。它们兼具针对其细胞靶标的直接效应功能，并参与多细胞免疫反应的产生、塑造和维持。随着我们认识的深入，已经设想出几种针对 NK 细胞的治疗策略，目前正处于从临床前研究到临床试验的不同开发阶段。在这里，我们详细探讨了人类 NK 细胞生物学的复杂性，并强调了这些细胞在癌症免疫中的作用。我们还分析了通过免疫检查点抑制剂、NK 细胞激活剂以及输注预先激活或基因修饰的自体或同种异体 NK 细胞产品来利用 NK 细胞免疫的情况。
