Engineered Natural Killer Cells for Cancer Therapy
Meaning Engineered Natural Killer (NK) cells refer to genetically modified immune cells designed to enhance their ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells. NK cells are a type of lymphocyte and an essential component of the innate immune system. Unlike T-cells, NK cells can identify and eliminate abnormal cells without prior sensitization. By engineering these cells—often using chimeric antigen receptors (CARs)—scientists improve their specificity, persistence, and anti-tumor activity in cancer treatment. Introduction Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, particularly with the success of CAR-T cell therapy. However, CAR-T therapy is associated with serious side effects such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity. To overcome these limitations, researchers have turned to engineered NK cells as a safer and potentially more versatile alternative. NK cells can be derived from multiple sources including peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood, induce...