CD8+ T lymphocytes are sensitive to NKG2A/HLA-E licensing interaction: role in the survival of cancer patients.

NK and CD8 T cells are the main cytolytic effectors involved in innate and adaptive tumor immune surveillance, respectively. Although their educational pathways differ, similarities in their development and function suggest that CD8 T lymphocytes could be sensitive to NK cell licensing signals, which might influence their antitumor response. To demonstrate this hypothesis, we retrospectively evaluated the impact that NK cell licensing interactions have on the expression of CD226 on CD8 T lymphocytes and on the survival of patients with different hematopoietic and solid cancers (n = 1,023).