Coral Fairhead
Canada
Review Article
Natural Killer Cells: A Potential Therapy for Paediatric Brain Tumours
Author(s): Coral Fairhead, Hisaki Fujii, Zhi-Juan Luo, Hye Jin Kim and R Maarten Egeler
Coral Fairhead, Hisaki Fujii, Zhi-Juan Luo, Hye Jin Kim and R Maarten Egeler
Natural killer cells are innate immune cells that are naturally involved in tumour immunosurveillance. These cells have direct cytotoxic activity and also secrete proinflammatory cytokines upon activation. The activation of natural killer cells’ cytolytic activity is dependent on a balance between inhibitory signals and activating signals provided by the host cells. Natural killer cells do not exert their activity on healthy cells, due to interactions of inhibitory receptors with self major histocompatibility class I. Inhibition may be overcome when the cell binds tumour-associated antigens on the surface of tumour cells, resulting in the polarized release of cytolytic granules toward the target cell. Natural killer cells demonstrate particular promise for cellular therapy, as they can identify and eliminate tumours that have altered major histocompatibility class I expression. .. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2157-2518.1000209