Author(s)

Jinyi Jiang

Corresponding Author

Jinyi Jiang

ABSTRACT

Natural Killer Cells (NK cells) are innate immune cells which kill target cells without prior sensitization. This type of immune cell exists in multiple organisms, including human. NK Cells has been closely related to their ability to kill tumor cells ever since the discovery of them. At present, the research on NK cells mainly focuses on its ability to directly kill target cells, a minority of related research studied on its regulatory role in the immune system. Scientists have been able to artificially mass produce NK cells in vitro, and have mastered some factors affecting the immune characteristics of NK cells. However, since there are relatively few studies on NK cell immunotherapy against cancer compared to other therapies. The research on NK Cells have not been deep enough, there are some problems about the theoretical background of NK cells, the mechanism by which NK cells recognize target cells and the specific mechanism by which NK cells cooperate with other immune cells remains unclear or unknown. Secondly, in clinical and laboratory research, the vitro amplification technology and safety had also become one of the bottlenecks of research. This review mainly focuses on summarizing the existing knowledge about NK cells, including the mechanism of killing tumor cells, the ability to regulate or cooperate with other immune cells as well as some examples of clinical application. In the final part, this review summarizes some possible development directions and research suggestions in the future.

KEYWORDS

Natural Killer Cells (NK cells), Adoptive NK Cell Transfer Therapy, Immunotherapy, Cancer