Natural killer group 2D (NKG2D) is a natural killer (NK) cell-activating receptor that recognizes different stress-induced ligands that are overexpressed in a variety of childhood and adult tumors.
The Natural Cytotoxicity Receptors (NCRs), NKp46, NKp44, and NKp30, were some of the first human activating Natural Killer (NK) cell receptors involved in the non-MHC-restricted recognition of tumor cells to be cloned over 20 years ago.
Using transgenic mice, NKp44 binding of tumor-expressed PDGF-DD was able to limit tumor growth, and expression of natural cytotoxicity receptor-associated gene signatures (of which NKp44 is a member) was correlated to clinical outcomes.
A distinctive transcriptional signature of PDGF-DD-induced cytokines and the downregulation of tumor cell-cycle genes correlated with NCR2 expression and greater survival in glioblastoma.
We therefore identified the NKp44 binding site to PCNA and further developed an NKp44-peptide-based agent that can inhibit tumor growth through interfering with the function of intracellular PCNA in the tumor cell.
The natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCRs; NKp30, NKp44, and NKp46) were first defined as activating receptors on human NK cells that are important in recognition of and response to tumors.
Our results show that expression in primary lymphocytes of an NCR2-derived CAR, termed s4428z, confers T-cells with the ability to specifically recognize heterogeneous tumors and to mediate tumor cytotoxicity in a mouse model.