I Like NK Cells

Natural Killer cells are part of the innate immune system. They are often one of the first to attack invaders. CIK cells are enhanced NK cells that have been shown effective against MDS. Now we have CAR NK cells.

As reported in Cancer Discovery:

Nearly 3 years after showing, preclinically, that natural killer (NK) cells outfitted with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) could be a promising alternative to CAR-bearing T cells, the first clinical data are in from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston. It’s early days, but “that we’ve seen responses even during phase I is very encouraging,” said senior author Katy Rezvani, MD, PhD. She and her team published results from 11 patients with relapsed/refractory non–Hodgkin lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia who received CAR NK cells targeting CD19.... These cells, also equipped with the IL15 gene to improve proliferation and survival, were derived from MDACC’s umbilical cord blood bank—unlike T cells, NK cells do not cause graft-versus-host disease, and a donorgeneric product can be safely administered. The objective response rate was 73%, including seven complete responses. Notably, none of the participants developed cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity, two common complications with CAR T-cell therapy. “I believed we’d see efficacy,” Rezvani observed, “but the safety profile is really beyond what we could have expected.” Phase II of the trial is under way; a global study is also being planned with Takeda.

 These are powerful immune cells and enhancing them with CAR receptors cal allow for more aggressive treatments.