Background: Adoptive transfer of immune cells such as T cells and natural killer (NK) cells has emerged as a\ntargeted method of controlling the immune system against cancer. Despite their significant therapeutic potential,\nefficient methods to generate adequate numbers of NK cells are lacking and ex vivo-expansion and activation of\nNK cells is currently under intensive investigation. The primary purpose of this study was to develop an effective\nmethod for expansion and activation of the effector cells with high proportion of NK cells and increasing\ncytotoxicity against liver cancer in a short time period.\nMethods: Expanded NK cell-enriched lymphocytes (NKL) designated as â??MYJ1633â? were prepared by using\nautologous human plasma, cytokines (IL-2, IL-12 and IL-18) and agonistic antibodies (CD16, CD56 and NKp46)\nwithout an NK cell-sorting step. The characteristics of NKL were compared to those of freshly isolated PBMCs. In\naddition, the cytotoxic effect of the NKL on liver cancer cell was examined in vitro and in vivo.\nResults: The total cell number after ex vivo-expansion increased about 140-fold compared to that of freshly\nisolated PBMC within 2 weeks. Approximately 78% of the expanded and activated NKL using the house-developed\nprotocol was NK cell and NKT cells even without a NK cell-sorting step. In addition, the expanded and activated\nNKL demonstrated potent cytotoxicity against liver cancer in vitro and in vivo.\nConclusion: The house-developed method can be a new and effective strategy to prepare clinically applicable NKL\nfor autologous NK cell-based anti-tumor immunotherapy.
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