Adoptive therapeutic immune cells, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells and natural killer cells, have established a new generation of precision medicine based on which dramatic breakthroughs have been achieved in intractable lymphoma treatments. Currently, well-explored approaches focus on autologous cells due to their low immunogenicity, but they are highly restricted by the high costs, time consumption of processing, and the insufficiency of primary cells in some patients. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are cell sources that can theoretically produce indefinite well-differentiated immune cells. Based on the above facts, it may be reasonable to combine the iPSC technology and the CAR design to produce a series of highly controllable and economical "live" drugs. Manufacturing hypoimmunogenic iPSCs by inactivation or over-expression at the genetic level and then arming the derived cells with CAR have emerged as a form of "off-the-shelf" strategy to eliminate tumor cells efficiently and safely in a broader range of patients. This review describes the reasonability, feasibility, superiority, and drawbacks of such approaches, summarizes the current practices and relevant research progress, and provides insights into the possible new paths for personalized cell-based therapies.
Humans ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/genetics* ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; T-Lymphocytes ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Neoplasms/genetics*

Endometriosis, a heterogeneous, inflammatory, and estrogen-dependent gynecological disease defined by the presence and growth of endometrial tissues outside the lining of the uterus, affects approximately 5-10% of reproductive-age women, causing chronic pelvic pain and reduced fertility. Although the etiology of endometriosis is still elusive, emerging evidence supports the idea that immune dysregulation can promote the survival and growth of retrograde endometrial debris. Peritoneal macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells exhibit deficient cytotoxicity in the endometriotic microenvironment, leading to inefficient eradication of refluxed endometrial fragments. In addition, the imbalance of T-cell subtypes results in aberrant cytokine production and chronic inflammation, which contribute to endometriosis development. Although it remains uncertain whether immune dysregulation represents an initial cause or merely a secondary enhancer of endometriosis, therapies targeting altered immune pathways exhibit satisfactory effects in preventing disease onset and progression. Here, we summarize the phenotypic and functional alterations of immune cells in the endometriotic microenvironment, focusing on their interactions with microbiota and endocrine and nervous systems, and how these interactions contribute to the etiology and symptomology of endometriosis.
Female ; Humans ; Endometriosis/metabolism* ; Killer Cells, Natural/metabolism* ; T-Lymphocytes/metabolism* ; Estrogens ; Endometrium/metabolism*

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathologic features of primary adrenal NK/T cell lymphoma (PANKL). Methods: Six cases of PANKL were collected at Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2000 to December 2021. The clinicopathologic features including morphology, immunophenotype, treatment and prognosis were retrospectively analyzed, and relevant literature was reviewed. Results: There were two males and four females. The median age was 63 years (ranged from 57 to 68 years). The tumors involved bilateral adrenal glands in 4 cases and unilateral adrenal gland in 2 cases. The main clinical symptom was low back pain without obvious cause. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is elevated in five cases. The imaging feature was rapidly enlarging mass initially confined to unilateral/bilateral adrenal glands. Morphologically, the lymphoid cells were mainly medium-sized with a diffuse growth pattern. Coagulative necrosis and nuclear fragmentation were common. Angioinvasion was seen. Immunophenotypically, the neoplastic cells were positive for CD3, CD56 and TIA-1 while CD5 was negative in 5 cases. All cases were positive for EBER by in situ hybridization with more than 80% proliferative activity by Ki-67. Four cases received chemotherapy, one case underwent surgery, and one case underwent surgery with chemotherapy. Follow-up was done in 5 cases; one case was lost to follow-up. Three patients died with a median survival of 11.6 months (3-42 months). Conclusions: PANKL is rare with highly aggressive clinical presentation and poor prognosis. Accurate diagnosis entails correlation of histomorphology, immunohistochemistry, EBER in situ hybridization and clinical history.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral/pathology* ; Killer Cells, Natural/pathology* ; Prognosis ; Immunophenotyping

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of bone marrow lymphocyte subsets in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS),the proportion of activated T cells with immunophenotype CD3⁺HLA-DR⁺ in the lymphocytes and its clinical significance, and to understand the effects of different types of MDS, different immunophenotypes, and different expression levels of WT1 on the proportion of lymphocyte subsets and activated T cells. METHODS: The immunophenotypes of 96 MDS patients, the subsets of bone marrow lymphocytes and activated T cells were detected by flow cytometry. The relative expression of WT1 was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, and the first induced remission rate (CR1) was calculated, the differences of lymphocyte subsets and activated T cells in MDS patients with different immunophenotype, different WT1 expression, and different course of disease were analyzed. RESULTS: The percentage of CD4⁺T lymphocyte in MDS-EB-2, IPSS high-risk, CD34⁺ cells >10%, and patients with CD34⁺CD7⁺ cell population and WT1 gene overexpression at intial diagnosis decreased significantly (P<0.05), and the percentage of NK cells and activated T cells increased significantly (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the ratio of B lymphocytes. Compared with the normal control group, the percentage of NK cells and activated T cells in IPSS-intermediate-2 group was significantly higher(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the percentage of CD3⁺T, CD4⁺T lymphocytes. The percentage of CD4⁺T cells in patients with complete remission after the first chemotherapy was significantly higher than in patients with incomplete remission(P<0.05), and the percentage of NK cells and activated T cells was significantly lower than that in patients with incomplete remission (P<0.05). CONCLUSION In MDS patients, the proportion of CD3⁺T and CD4⁺T lymphocytes decreased, and the proportion of activated T cells increased, indicating that the differentiation type of MDS is more primitive and the prognosis is worse.
Humans ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes/diagnosis* ; Bone Marrow ; B-Lymphocytes ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Flow Cytometry ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets

OBJECTIVE: To explore the similarities and variations of biological phenotype and cytotoxicity of human umbilical cord blood natural killer cells (hUC- NK) after human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cells (hUC-MNC) activated and expanded by two in vitro high-efficient strategies. METHODS: Umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (MNC) from healthy donor were enriched by Ficoll-based density gradient centrifugation. Then, the phenotype, subpopulations, cell viability and cytotoxicity of NK cells derived from Miltenyi medium (denoted as M-NK) and X-VIVO 15 (denoted as X-NK) were compared using a "3IL" strategy. RESULTS: After a 14-day's culture, the contents of CD3^-CD56⁺ NK cells were elevated from 4.25%±0.04% (d 0) to 71%±0.18% (M-NK) and 75.2%±1.1% (X-NK) respectively. Compared with X-NK group, the proportion of CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells and CD3⁺CD56⁺ NKT cells in M-NK group decreased significantly. The percentages of CD16⁺, NKG2D⁺, NKp44⁺, CD25⁺ NK cells in X-NK group was higher than those in the M-NK group, while the total number of expanded NK cells in X-NK group was half of that in M-NK group. There were no significant differences between X-NK and M-NK groups in cell proliferation and cell cycle, except for the lower percentage of Annexin V+ apoptotic cells in M-NK group. Compared with X-NK group, the proportion of CD107a⁺ NK cells in M-NK group were higher under the same effector-target ratio (E∶T) (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The two strategies were adequate for high-efficient generation of NK cells with high level of activation in vitro, however, there are differences in biological phenotypes and tumor cytotoxicity.
Humans ; Fetal Blood ; Killer Cells, Natural ; T-Lymphocytes ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear/metabolism* ; Cell Proliferation ; CD56 Antigen/metabolism*

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of mature T/NK cell lymphomas with aberrant CD20 or CD79α expression. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 641 cases of mature T/NK cell lymphoma diagnosed from January 2014 to December 2020 was performed, and 14 cases of CD20-positive and one case of CD79α-positive mature T/NK-cell lymphoma were identified. Histological examination, immunohistochemical characterization, in situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus encoded early RNA (EBER), and PCR testing for immunoglobulin and T cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements were performed. Clinicopathological characteristics of these lymphomas were analyzed. Results: There were 13 males and 2 females, with a median age of 56 years. There were 8 cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS), 3 cases of extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTCL), 2 cases of monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma (MEITL) and 2 cases of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). Twelve cases were stage Ⅲ or Ⅳ lymphomas. The prognosis was overall poor. The histology, immunophenotype and TCR gene rearrangement were not significantly different from the corresponding types of lymphoma. Ki-67 proliferation index was over 70% in all cases. The expression of CD20 or CD79α was weak and heterogeneous. All 15 case of Ig gene rearrangement were polyclonal. Conclusions: Mature T/NK cell lymphoma with abnormal expression of CD20 or CD79α is rare, commonly found in advanced stage, and associated with poor prognosis. The expression of CD20 or CD79α in these cases is weaker than the corresponding mature T/NK cell lymphomas, while its proliferation index is higher. Histomorphology, extensive immunoprofiling and molecular detection are required for accurate diagnosis.
Antigens, CD20 ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/complications* ; Female ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics* ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural/pathology* ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral/pathology* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To explore the significance of lymphocytes in systemic sclerosis (SSc), by detecting the levels of T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells, and analyzing the correlation between the lymphocytes and clinical laboratory indexes. METHODS: The numbers and proportion of T, CD4⁺T, CD8⁺T, B, and NK cells were detected by flow cytometry in peripheral blood of 32 SSc patients who had taken immunosuppressive drugs and 30 healthy controls (HC). The comparison of the lymphocyte subsets in SSc with them in the HC groups, and the correlation between the lymphocytes and other clinical and laboratory indicators were analyzed by the relevant statistical analysis. RESULTS: Compared with the HC group, the numbers of T, CD4⁺T, CD8⁺T, and NK cells in peripheral blood of SSc group, who had taken immunosuppressive drugs, were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). More-over, the proportion of NK cells in peripheral blood of the SSc group was also significantly lower than that in the HC group (P=0.004). In addition, all the lymphocyte subsets were decreased in peripheral blood of more than 65% of the SSc patients who had taken immunosuppressive drugs. Compared with CD4⁺T normal group, the positivity of Raynaud's phenomenon, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) was significantly increased in CD4⁺T reduction group, respectively (P＝0.024, P < 0.001, P=0.018). ESR was higher in CD8⁺T reduction group than CD8⁺T normal group (P＝0.022). The prevalence of fingertip ulcer was significantly increased in B cell decrease group (P=0.019). Compared with NK cell normal group, the prevalence of fingertip ulcer was significantly increased in NK cell lower group (P=0.033), IgM was remarkablely decreased yet (P=0.049). The correlation analysis showed that ESR was negatively correlated with the counts of T lymphocytes (r＝－0.455, P＝0.009), CD4⁺T lymphocytes (r＝－0.416, P＝0.018), CD8⁺T lymphocytes (r＝－0.430, P=0.014), B cells (r＝－0.366, P＝0.039). CONCLUSION The number of CD4⁺T, CD8⁺T, B, and NK cells significantly decreased in peripheral blood of SSc patients who had used immunosuppressive drugs, some lymphocyte subsets might be related with Raynaud's phenomenon and fingertip ulcer, and reflected the disease activity by negatively correlated with ESR and CRP; the numbers of lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood should be detected regularly in SSc patients who had taken immunosuppressive drugs.
B-Lymphocytes ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; Scleroderma, Systemic ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; T-Lymphocytes

BACKGROUND: Natural killer (NK) cells play a critical role in suppressing human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection, but knowledge on whether and how NK cells affect immune reconstitution in HIV-1-infected individuals who receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) is limited. METHODS: We performed a case-control study with 35 healthy individuals and 66 HIV-1-infected patients including 32 immunological non-responders (INRs) with poor CD4+ T-cell recovery (<500 cells/μL after 4 years of ART) and 34 immunological responders (IRs) with improved CD4+ T-cell recovery (>500 cells/μL after 4 years of ART). NK cell phenotype, receptor repertoire, and early activation in INRs and IRs were investigated by flow cytometry. RESULTS: A significantly higher proportion of CD56dimCD16dim/- NK cells was observed in INRs than IRs before ART and after 4 years of ART. The number of CD56dimCD16dim/- NK cells was inversely correlated with CD4+ T-cell counts in INRs before ART (r = -0.344, P = 0.050). The more CD69-expressing NK cells there were, the lower the CD4+ T-cell counts and ΔCD4, and these correlations were observed in INRs after ART (r = -0.416, P = 0.019; r = -0.509, P = 0.003, respectively). Additionally, CD69-expressing CD56dimCD16dim/- NK cells were more abundant in INRs than those in IRs (P  = 0.018) after ART, both of which had an inverse association trend towards significance with CD4+ T-cell counts. The expression of the activating receptors NKG2C, NKG2D, and NKp46 on CD56dimCD16dim/- NK cell subsets were higher in IRs than that in INRs after 4 years of ART (all P < 0.01). Strong inverse correlations were observed between CD69 expression and NKG2C, NKG2A-NKG2C+, NKG2D, and NKp46 expression on CD56dimCD16dim/- NK cells in INRs after ART (NKG2C: r = -0.491, P = 0.004; NKG2A-NKG2C+: r = -0.434, P = 0.013; NKG2D: r = -0.405, P = 0.021; NKp46: r = -0.457, P = 0.008, respectively). CONCLUSIONS INRs had a larger number of CD56dimCD16dim/- NK cells characterized by higher activation levels than did IRs after ART. The increase in the CD56dimCD16dim/- NK cell subset may play an adverse role in immune reconstitution. Further functional studies of CD56dimCD16dim/- NK cells in INRs are urgently needed to inform targeted interventions to optimize immune recovery.
CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Case-Control Studies ; HIV Infections/drug therapy* ; HIV-1 ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the killing effect of NK-92MI cells modified by chimeric antigen receptor (CD7-CAR) and specifically targeting CD7 to CD7 hematological malignant cells. METHODS: Three types of hematological malignant tumor cells, including 5 cases of CD7 acute T-lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), 10 cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 6 cases of T-cell lymphoma were collected, centrifuged, cultured and used to detect the expression levels of tumor cell surface targets; 7-AAD, CD56-APC, CD3-FITC, IgG Fc-PE flow cytometry were used to detected the transfection efficiency of NK-92MI and CD7-CAR-NK-92MI cells, killing efficiencies of CD7-CAR-NK-92MI cells to CD7 hematological tumor cells in vitro were determined by flow cytometry using PE Annexin V Apoptosis Detection Kit. Secretion differences of NK-92MI and CD7-CAR-NK-92MI cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, interferon (IFN)-γ, and granzyme B detection were estimated by using CBA kit. RESULTS: The killing efficiencies of CD7-CAR-modified NK-92MI cells to CD7 T-ALL, AML, T-cell lymphoma tumor cells were significantly higher than those of NK-92MI cells without genetical modification. The difference showed statistically significant (P＜0.05). The level of IFN-γ and granzyme B were significantly increased among cytokines secreted by CD7-CAR-modified NK-92MI cells as compared with those of NK-92MI cells without genetical modification (P＜0.05) . CONCLUSION CD7-CAR-modified NK-92MI cells have significantly improved killing efficiency against CD7 T-ALL, AML and T lymphoma cells, and shows specific targeting effects, which provides a clinical basis for the treatment of CD7 hematological malignancies.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen ; T-Lymphocytes

IL-17 is produced by RAR-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt)-expressing cells including Th17 cells, subsets of γδT cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). The biological significance of IL-17-producing cells is well-studied in contexts of inflammation, autoimmunity and host defense against infection. While most of available studies in tumor immunity mainly focused on the role of T-bet-expressing cells, including cytotoxic CD8⁺ T cells and NK cells, and their exhaustion status, the role of IL-17-producing cells remains poorly understood. While IL-17-producing T-cells were shown to be anti-tumorigenic in adoptive T-cell therapy settings, mice deficient in type 17 genes suggest a protumorigenic potential of IL-17-producing cells. This review discusses the features of IL-17-producing cells, of both lymphocytic and myeloid origins, as well as their suggested pro- and/or anti-tumorigenic functions in an organ-dependent context. Potential therapeutic approaches targeting these cells in the tumor microenvironment will also be discussed.
Animals ; Autoimmunity ; Child ; Child, Orphaned ; Friends ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-17 ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Lymphocytes ; Mice ; T-Lymphocytes ; Th17 Cells ; Tumor Microenvironment