Application and prospects of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy
With the rapid advancement of genetic engineering technologies, CAR-NK cell therapy, as an emerging immunotherapeutic approach, has demonstrated significant potential. CAR-NK cells recognize and eliminate tumor cells through chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Genetic engineering techniques have enha...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Immunology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1600411/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849309576675983360 |
|---|---|
| author | Caidong Hu Wenhong Lai Bin Tian Xi Xu Shuiling Xie Wenting Zhong Huiqiang Kang Xiaoyun Chen Hailiang Li Jingxin Xu Liping Liu |
| author_facet | Caidong Hu Wenhong Lai Bin Tian Xi Xu Shuiling Xie Wenting Zhong Huiqiang Kang Xiaoyun Chen Hailiang Li Jingxin Xu Liping Liu |
| author_sort | Caidong Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the rapid advancement of genetic engineering technologies, CAR-NK cell therapy, as an emerging immunotherapeutic approach, has demonstrated significant potential. CAR-NK cells recognize and eliminate tumor cells through chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Genetic engineering techniques have enhanced the targeting and anti-tumor activity of CAR-NK cells by optimizing key components of the CAR structure, such as signal peptides, single-chain variable fragments (scFvs), linkers, and hinge regions. Additionally, NK cells can be derived from diverse sources, including peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood, stem cells, and NK cell lines, each with its unique advantages and limitations. Although CAR-NK cell therapy has shown promising anti-tumor efficacy in preclinical studies, it still faces numerous challenges. In the future, further optimization of CAR-NK cell design through genetic engineering and overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment will be crucial for enhancing its clinical application efficacy. This review will comprehensively discuss the current applications, technical challenges, and future directions of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-31b76ea92f074b0fb0ffd89862d90ad2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-3224 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Immunology |
| spelling | doaj-art-31b76ea92f074b0fb0ffd89862d90ad22025-08-20T03:54:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242025-05-011610.3389/fimmu.2025.16004111600411Application and prospects of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapyCaidong Hu0Wenhong Lai1Bin Tian2Xi Xu3Shuiling Xie4Wenting Zhong5Huiqiang Kang6Xiaoyun Chen7Hailiang Li8Jingxin Xu9Liping Liu10Department of Hematology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, Dongying Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dongying, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaDepartment of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, ChinaWith the rapid advancement of genetic engineering technologies, CAR-NK cell therapy, as an emerging immunotherapeutic approach, has demonstrated significant potential. CAR-NK cells recognize and eliminate tumor cells through chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Genetic engineering techniques have enhanced the targeting and anti-tumor activity of CAR-NK cells by optimizing key components of the CAR structure, such as signal peptides, single-chain variable fragments (scFvs), linkers, and hinge regions. Additionally, NK cells can be derived from diverse sources, including peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood, stem cells, and NK cell lines, each with its unique advantages and limitations. Although CAR-NK cell therapy has shown promising anti-tumor efficacy in preclinical studies, it still faces numerous challenges. In the future, further optimization of CAR-NK cell design through genetic engineering and overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment will be crucial for enhancing its clinical application efficacy. This review will comprehensively discuss the current applications, technical challenges, and future directions of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1600411/fullnatural killer cellsCAR-NK cellsgenetic engineeringNK cell expansionvectors for CAR expressiontumor microenvironment |
| spellingShingle | Caidong Hu Wenhong Lai Bin Tian Xi Xu Shuiling Xie Wenting Zhong Huiqiang Kang Xiaoyun Chen Hailiang Li Jingxin Xu Liping Liu Application and prospects of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy Frontiers in Immunology natural killer cells CAR-NK cells genetic engineering NK cell expansion vectors for CAR expression tumor microenvironment |
| title | Application and prospects of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy |
| title_full | Application and prospects of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy |
| title_fullStr | Application and prospects of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Application and prospects of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy |
| title_short | Application and prospects of genetic engineering in CAR-NK cell therapy |
| title_sort | application and prospects of genetic engineering in car nk cell therapy |
| topic | natural killer cells CAR-NK cells genetic engineering NK cell expansion vectors for CAR expression tumor microenvironment |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1600411/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT caidonghu applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT wenhonglai applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT bintian applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT xixu applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT shuilingxie applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT wentingzhong applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT huiqiangkang applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT xiaoyunchen applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT hailiangli applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT jingxinxu applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy AT lipingliu applicationandprospectsofgeneticengineeringincarnkcelltherapy |