Natural Killer (NK) cells have a phenomenal ability to target and kill infected and defective cells within the body. The elegant orchestra of activating and inhibitory receptors by which NK cells recognize intracellular pathogens and restrict cancer development have been finely mapped in the years since the discovery of NK cells. Leveraging this widening knowledge of NK cell biology and the power of synthetic genes, new strategies are now emerging to redirect and enhance their killer activity in situations where their natural abilities have fallen short. For example, antibodies that can engage multiple NK-cell receptors and cancer-specific antigens have shown promise in pre-clinical testing and early clinical trials. Similarly, the application of viral vectors to reprogram the genome of NK cells into chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-NK cells has also shown exciting promise as a potential “off-the-shelf” cell treatment for hematological malignancy and other tumours. These developments are still early developments towards increasingly complex strategies to redirect and redesign NK cells for many potential future therapeutic applications, including cancer, infection, and degenerative diseases.The goal of this Research Topic will be to collect reports on the application of synthetic biology approaches that seek to re-engineer the NK cell response for the treatment of human illness.Reviews or new reports on the following topics would be in scope:• Development and optimization of CARs or CAR-like molecules for NK-cell therapeutics• Novel approaches to genomic modification in NK cells, including new genome editing techniques, viral vectors, or other strategies• Novel tools and techniques for increasing NK-cell targeting and invasion of tumour• Differentiation of NK cells from precursor stem cell sources, including iPSC• Nanoparticle technologies for targeting NK cells
Natural Killer (NK) cells have a phenomenal ability to target and kill infected and defective cells within the body. The elegant orchestra of activating and inhibitory receptors by which NK cells recognize intracellular pathogens and restrict cancer development have been finely mapped in the years since the discovery of NK cells. Leveraging this widening knowledge of NK cell biology and the power of synthetic genes, new strategies are now emerging to redirect and enhance their killer activity in situations where their natural abilities have fallen short. For example, antibodies that can engage multiple NK-cell receptors and cancer-specific antigens have shown promise in pre-clinical testing and early clinical trials. Similarly, the application of viral vectors to reprogram the genome of NK cells into chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-NK cells has also shown exciting promise as a potential “off-the-shelf” cell treatment for hematological malignancy and other tumours. These developments are still early developments towards increasingly complex strategies to redirect and redesign NK cells for many potential future therapeutic applications, including cancer, infection, and degenerative diseases.The goal of this Research Topic will be to collect reports on the application of synthetic biology approaches that seek to re-engineer the NK cell response for the treatment of human illness.Reviews or new reports on the following topics would be in scope:• Development and optimization of CARs or CAR-like molecules for NK-cell therapeutics• Novel approaches to genomic modification in NK cells, including new genome editing techniques, viral vectors, or other strategies• Novel tools and techniques for increasing NK-cell targeting and invasion of tumour• Differentiation of NK cells from precursor stem cell sources, including iPSC• Nanoparticle technologies for targeting NK cells