NK cell surface receptors and their research progress - review / 中国实验血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

Natural killer (NK) cells are important immune cells in human body, which occupy an important place in adoptive immunotherapy for patients with malignancies due to their capacity of killing tumor cells without MHC limitation, as well as separating graft versus leukemia (GVL) and graft versus host disease (GVHD). Recent studies showed that different kinds of NK cell-surface receptors have been found, which transmit inhibiting signals or activating signals, the balance between them determines the functional status of NK cells. Researchers have focused on the study of NK cell-surface receptors recently in order to improve application of NK cells for adoptive immunotherapy. This review summaries the current advancement about NK cell-surface receptors and their clinical significance.