Natural Killer Cells

[Cell Death Discovery] Scientists investigated the heterogeneity of vascular cell populations under disturbed blood flow (d-flow). A d-flow-induced Spp1hi vascular smooth muscle cell subpopulation appeared to be endowed with osteoblast differentiation, suggesting a role in arterial stiffness.

[BMC Immunology] Scientists examined the expression of NKG2DLs, PD-L1 and PD-L2 in lung cancer cells after treatment of TGF-β and a TGF-β inhibitor, Galunisertib.

[INmune Bio, Inc.] INmune Bio, Inc. announced that the first patient has been treated in the company’s Phase I clinical trial of its Natural Killer cell priming platform, INKmune, as a potential treatment for high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

[Nature Genetics] Researchers quantified the NK cell responsiveness of hundreds of molecularly annotated ‘DNA-barcoded’ solid tumor cell lines in multiplexed format and applied genome-scale CRISPR-based gene-editing screens in several solid tumor cell lines, to functionally interrogate which genes in tumor cells regulate the response to NK cells.

[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America] Scientists demonstrated that peripheral circulating NK cells differentiated down two divergent pathways within the tumor microenvironment, resulting in different end states.

[Science Translational Medicine] To specifically trigger sufficient antitumor reactivity without notable adverse effects, scientists developed an antigen and adjuvant codelivery nanoparticle vaccine based on Escherichia coli cytoplasmic membranes (EMs) and tumor cell membranes (TMs) from resected autologous tumor tissue.