Grant: Project Grant

Natural killer cells (NK cells) are a type of lymphocyte (white blood cell), and can kill cancerous cells. Thus, NK cells are an ideal cell type in cancer immunotherapy, a type of treatment that utilizes the body's own immune system to fight cancer. However, it has been a challenge to generate functionally potent NK cells that can efficiently kill cancer cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), the environment around a tumor that suppresses immune cell functions. One of the characteristics of TME is hypoxia, a condition with low oxygen. This hypoxic condition is unfavorable for the anti-tumor function of immune cells inside the tumor mass. Thus, we reason that a strategy for NK cells to overcome the harsh condition is an innovative means to generate NK cells with effective anti-tumor activity for immunotherapy.