Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.3
3.2
Journals
Life
Special Issues
Natural Killer (NK) Cells: From Virology to Cancer Immunotherapy
share announcement

Natural Killer (NK) Cells: From Virology to Cancer Immunotherapy

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 July 2023) | Viewed by 2573

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kiran Kundu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Interests: natural killer cells; natural cytotoxicity receptors; monoclonal antibody; immune checkpoints; chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK cells; immunotherapy
Dr. Susmita Ghosh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Interests: colorectal cancer; NK cell; combination therapy; immunotherapy; patient-derived xenograft; explant culture
Dr. Pulak Ranjan Nath

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Staff Scientist (E), Clinical and Translational Immunology Unit, NEI, National Institutes of Health 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-1857, USA
Interests: NK cells; T cells; TCR; tumor microenvironment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the foremost players of the innate immune system are the natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells have recently been grouped within the innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). NK cells are well known for their cytotoxic function against virus-infected cells and malignant cells. Studies have also reported a role of NK cells in bacterial and parasitic infections. In normal healthy individuals, NK cells’ cytotoxic function remains suppressed via inhibitory signal from NK cells’ inhibitory receptors and their interactions with MHC class I ligands. During viral infection and malignant transformation, cells express different activation ligands on their surface to activate NK cells via interaction with their activatory receptors. Activated NK cells then respond by killing the infected or tumor cells without prior sensitization, and by producing cytokines and chemokines. It has been shown that NK cells crosstalk with other immune cells like dendritic cells and can shape the adaptive immune response through this crosstalk, and by their cytokine/chemokine production. However, during some specific and chronic viral infections, viruses can escape the NK-cell-mediated viral clearance. This is also true for cancer. In several tumor models, it has been reported that infiltrating NK cells are inactivated or suppressed by different molecular mechanisms.

The goal of this Special Issue is to present original research and review papers discussing the recent advancements in the role of NK cells in viral infections and the mechanisms by which viruses escape NK-cell-mediated killing. There will be scope to discuss the molecular mechanisms behind NK cell suppression in solid tumors, the role of specific NK cell subsets in chronic viral infection or cancer, the evaluation of different phenotypes between protective NK cells (antiviral, antitumoral) and inactivated NK cells, and identifying the signals or interactions that can change the NK cell response from suppression to activation. Finally, we are interested in learning how these learnings can be helpful for NK-cell-based cellular immunotherapy.

Dr. Kiran Kundu
Dr. Susmita Ghosh
Dr. Pulak Ranjan Nath
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • NK cells
  • viral infection
  • immunotherapy
  • cancer immunology
  • cellular immunotherapy
  • innate lymphoid cells

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

10 pages, 1582 KiB  
Article
DOCK2 Mutation and Recurrent Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
by Daniel D. Reiff, Mingce Zhang and Randy Q. Cron
Life 2023, 13(2), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020434 - 3 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2082
Abstract
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a syndrome resulting from uncontrolled hyper-inflammation, excessive immune system activation, and elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines. HLH can be caused by the inability to downregulate activated macrophages by natural killer (NK) and CD8 cytotoxic T cells through a process [...] Read more.
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a syndrome resulting from uncontrolled hyper-inflammation, excessive immune system activation, and elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines. HLH can be caused by the inability to downregulate activated macrophages by natural killer (NK) and CD8 cytotoxic T cells through a process reliant on perforin and granzyme B to initiate apoptosis. Homozygous genetic mutations in this process result in primary HLH (pHLH), a disorder that can lead to multi-system organ failure and death in infancy. Heterozygous, dominant-negative, or monoallelic hypomorphic mutations in these same genes can cause a similar syndrome in the presence of an immune trigger, leading to secondary HLH (sHLH). A genetic mutation in a potential novel HLH-associated gene, dedicator of cytokinesis 2 (DOCK2), was identified in a patient with recurrent episodes of sHLH and hyperinflammation in the setting of frequent central line infections. He required baseline immune suppression for the prevention of sHLH, with increased anti-cytokine therapies and corticosteroids in response to flares and infections. Using a foamy-virus approach, the patient’s DOCK2 mutation and wild-type (WT) control DOCK2 cDNA were separately transduced into a human NK-92 cell line. The NK-cell populations were stimulated with NK-sensitive K562 erythroleukemia target cells in vitro and degranulation and cytolysis were measured using CD107a expression and live/dead fixable cell dead reagent, respectively. Compared to WT, the patient’s DOCK2 mutation was found to cause significantly decreased NK cell function, degranulation, and cytotoxicity. This study speaks to the importance of DOCK2 and similar genes in the pathogenesis of sHLH, with implications for its diagnosis and treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Killer (NK) Cells: From Virology to Cancer Immunotherapy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-1
Back to TopTop