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NK cells direct the perspective approaches to cancer immunotherapy

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Abstract

Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells with cytotoxic potentials to kill cancerous cells in several mechanisms, which could be implied for cancer therapy. While potent, their antitumor activities specially for solid tumors impaired by inadequate tumor infiltration, suppressive tumor microenvironment, cancer-associated stroma cells, and tumor-supportive immune cells. Therefore, manipulating or reprogramming these barriers by prospective strategies might improve current immunotherapies in the clinic or introduce novel NK-based immunotherapies. NK-based immunotherapy could be developed in monotherapy or in combination with other therapeutic regimens such as oncolytic virus therapy and immune checkpoint blockade, as presented in this review.

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Abbreviations

ACT:

Adoptive cell therapy

ADCC:

Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity

CAR:

Chimeric antigen receptor

CRS:

Cytokine-release syndrome

CSCs:

Cancer stem cells

ICB:

Immune checkpoint blockade

iCARs:

Inhibitory CARs

iPSCs:

Induced pluripotent stem cells

GvHD:

Graft-versus-host disease

PBMC:

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell

MDSCs:

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

TAAs:

Tumor-associated antigens

TAMs:

Tumor-associated macrophages

TILs:

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

TME:

Tumor microenvironment

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Laboratories Techniques, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Hilla, Babylon, Iraq

    Abduladheem Turki Jalil

  2. Department of Medical Laboratory Techniques, Al-Maarif University College, Al-Anbar, Iraq

    Mohanad Ali Abdulhadi

  3. College of Medical and Health Technologies, Al-Zahraa University for Women, Karbala, 56100, Iraq

    Farah A. Al-Marzook

  4. National University of Science and Technology, Nasiriyah, Dhi Qar, Iraq

    Manar Mohammed Hizam

  5. Biology Department, College of Education for Pure Science, Wasit University, Kut, Wasit, Iraq

    Sada Jasim Abdulameer

  6. Dentistry Department, Al-Turath University College, Baghdad, Iraq

    Abdul Kareem J. Al-Azzawi

  7. Medical Laboratory Technology Department, College of Medical Technology, The Islamic University, Najaf, Iraq

    Rahman S. Zabibah

  8. Medical Technical College, Al-Farahidi University, Baghdad, Iraq

    Ali A. Fadhil

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  1. Abduladheem Turki Jalil
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  2. Mohanad Ali Abdulhadi
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  3. Farah A. Al-Marzook
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  4. Manar Mohammed Hizam
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  5. Sada Jasim Abdulameer
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  6. Abdul Kareem J. Al-Azzawi
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  7. Rahman S. Zabibah
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  8. Ali A. Fadhil
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Contributions

ATJ: conceptualization, investigation, writing original draft, writing-review & editing, visualization, supervision, and project administration. MMH, RSZ, AAF, MAA, FAA-M, MMH, SJA, and AKJA-A: investigation, writing original draft, writing revised draft. All co-authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Abduladheem Turki Jalil.

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Jalil, A.T., Abdulhadi, M.A., Al-Marzook, F.A. et al. NK cells direct the perspective approaches to cancer immunotherapy. Med Oncol 40, 206 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-023-02066-x

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