BCG priming followed by a novel interleukin combination activates Natural Killer cells to selectively proliferate and become anti-tumour long-lived effectors

The short-lived nature and heterogeneity of Natural Killer (NK) cells limit the development of NK cell-based therapies, despite their proven safety and efficacy against cancer. Here, we describe the biological basis, detailed phenotype and function of long-lived anti-tumour human NK cells (CD56highC...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Felgueres, María José, Esteso, Gloria, García-Jiménez, Álvaro Fernando, Dopazo, Ana, Aguiló, Nacho, Mestre-Durán, Carmen, Martínez-Piñeiro, Luis, Pérez-Martínez, Antonio, Reyburn, H. T., Valés-Gómez, Mar
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/369165
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/369165
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85195399919
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:BCG
Cancer immunology
Cell immunotherapy
Cytokine activation
NK cells
Descripción
Sumario:The short-lived nature and heterogeneity of Natural Killer (NK) cells limit the development of NK cell-based therapies, despite their proven safety and efficacy against cancer. Here, we describe the biological basis, detailed phenotype and function of long-lived anti-tumour human NK cells (CD56highCD16+), obtained without cell sorting or feeder cells, after priming of peripheral blood cells with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Further, we demonstrate that survival doses of a cytokine combination, excluding IL18, administered just weekly to BCG-primed NK cells avoids innate lymphocyte exhaustion and leads to specific long-term proliferation of innate cells that exert potent cytotoxic function against a broad range of solid tumours, mainly through NKG2D. Strikingly, a NKG2C+CD57-FcεRIγ+ NK cell population expands after BCG and cytokine stimulation, independently of HCMV serology. This strategy was exploited to rescue anti-tumour NK cells even from the suppressor environment of cancer patients' bone marrow, demonstrating that BCG confers durable anti-tumour features to NK cells.