Natural killer (NK) cells have recently gained popularity as an alternative for cancer immunotherapy. Adoptive cell transfer employing NK cells offers a safer therapeutic option compared to T-cell-based therapies, due to their significantly lower toxicity and the availability of diverse autologous and allogeneic NK cell sources. However, several challenges are associated with NK cell therapies, including limited in vivo persistence, the immunosuppressive and hostile tumor microenvironment (TME), and the lack of effective treatments for solid tumors. To address these limitations, the modification of NK cells to stably produce cytokines has been proposed as a strategy to enhance their persistence and proliferation. Additionally, the overexpression of activating receptors and the blockade of inhibitory receptors can restore the NK cell functions hindered by the TME. To further improve tumor infiltration and the elimination of solid tumors, innovative approaches focusing on the enhancement of NK cell chemotaxis through the overexpression of chemotactic receptors have been introduced. This review highlights the latest advancements in preclinical and clinical studies investigating the engineering of activating, inhibitory, and chemotactic NK cell receptors; discusses recent progress in cytokine manipulation; and explores the potential of combining the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology with NK cell receptors engineering.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16091143 | DOI Listing |
Plant Commun
January 2025
Department of Plant Biology, Linnean Center for Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Almas allé 5, 756 51, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address:
Plants possess remarkable regenerative abilities to form de novo vasculature after damage and in response to pathogens that invade and withdraw nutrients. To look for common factors that affect vascular formation upon stress, we searched for Arabidopsis thaliana genes differentially expressed upon Agrobacterium infection, nematode infection and plant grafting. One such gene was cell wall related and highly induced by all three stresses and was named ENHANCED XYLEM AND GRAFTING1 (EXG1) since mutations in it promoted ectopic xylem formation in Vascular cell Induction culture System Using Arabidopsis Leaves (VISUAL) and enhanced graft formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiophys J
January 2025
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Chemistry, NSF-Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate Research, University of California, Irvine, California, USA. Electronic address:
In this work we present a minimal structure-based model of protein diffusional search along local DNA amid protein binding and unbinding events on the DNA, taking into account protein-DNA electrostatic interactions and hydrogen-bonding (HB) interactions or contacts at the interface. We accordingly constructed the protein diffusion-association/dissociation free energy surface and mapped it to 1D as the protein slides along DNA, maintaining the protein-DNA interfacial HB contacts that presumably dictate the DNA sequence information detection. Upon DNA helical path correction, the protein 1D diffusion rates along local DNA can be physically derived to be consistent with experimental measurements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTurk J Haematol
January 2025
Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Department of Hematology, Tianjin, P. R. China.
Objective: Immune-related pancytopenia (IRP) is characterized by autoantibody-mediated destruction or suppression of bone marrow cells, leading to pancytopenia. This study aimed to explore the role of TRAPPC4 (trafficking protein particle complex subunit 4) as a key autoantigen in IRP, including epitope identification and immune activation mechanisms.
Methods: A total of 90 participants were included in the study, divided into four groups: 30 newly diagnosed IRP patients, 25 IRP remission patients, 20 patients with control hematologic conditions (severe aplastic anemia [SAA] and myelodysplastic syndrome [MDS]), and 15 healthy controls.
Acad Radiol
January 2025
Department of Radiology, University Hospital Tuebingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 3, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany (R.D., J.M.B., B.S., J.M., S.G., P.K., S.W., J.H., K.N., S.A., A.B.).
Rationale And Objectives: Photon Counting CT (PCCT) offers advanced imaging capabilities with potential for substantial radiation dose reduction; however, achieving this without compromising image quality remains a challenge due to increased noise at lower doses. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a deep learning (DL)-based denoising algorithm in maintaining diagnostic image quality in whole-body PCCT imaging at reduced radiation levels, using real intraindividual cadaveric scans.
Materials And Methods: Twenty-four cadaveric human bodies underwent whole-body CT scans on a PCCT scanner (NAEOTOM Alpha, Siemens Healthineers) at four different dose levels (100%, 50%, 25%, and 10% mAs).
Trends Pharmacol Sci
January 2025
Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China. Electronic address:
The process by which cells translate external mechanical cues into intracellular biochemical signals involves intricate mechanisms that remain unclear. In recent years, research into post-translational modifications (PTMs) has offered valuable insights into this field, spotlighting protein prenylation as a crucial mechanism in cellular mechanotransduction and various human diseases. Protein prenylation, which involves the covalent attachment of isoprenoid groups to specific substrate proteins, profoundly affects the functions of key mechanotransduction proteins such as Rho, Ras, and lamins.
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