A method for developing intra-epithelial innate lymphoid cells (tissue-resident NK cells) for immunotherapy

Researchers in the Sunwoo Lab have developed a method to differentiate intra-epithelial innate lymphoid cells type 1 (ieILC1s) from conventional peripheral natural kills cells for immunotherapeutic purposes. ieILC1s express higher levels of tumoricidal proteins such as interferon-gamma and granzymes in tumor microenvironments than conventional natural killer cells, leading to better tumor growth control in vivo. Thus, this differentiation method provides a pathway for ieILC1s to be adoptively transferred for immunotherapeutic purposes.

Stage of Research