NK cell engagers
Bispecific or trispecific antibodies that hold a natural killer cell against a tumour cell and switch it on, an alternative to T-cell engagers with potentially milder side effects.
Overview
Natural killer (NK) cell engagers bind an activating receptor on NK cells (CD16, NKG2D or NKp46) and a tumour antigen, often with an added interleukin-15 domain to sustain the cells. Programmes from Innate Pharma, Affimed and others are in early trials in lymphoma, leukaemia and solid tumours. Because NK cells release fewer inflammatory cytokines than T cells, the format promises less cytokine release syndrome, though clinical proof is limited.
How it works
Multispecific antibody scaffolds crosslink NK activating receptors with a tumour antigen, triggering degranulation and cytokine release against the bound target cell.
- Innate cells kill without antigen presentation
- Potentially lower cytokine release than T-cell engagers
- Off-the-shelf biologic
- Early clinical stage
- NK cells are scarce and short-lived in tumours
Latest papers
topQuery for this technology: (TITLE:"NK cell engagers" OR ABSTRACT:"NK cell engagers") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about NK cell engagers, not a curated reading list.
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