STAT1 as a tool for non-invasive monitoring of NK cell activation in cancer
Natural killer (NK) cells play a crucial role in immunotherapy for cancer due to their natural ability to target and destroy cancer cells. However, current methods to visualize NK cells' activity against tumors in live organisms are limited. We introduce an imaging method that non-invasively tracks NK cell activation by cancer cells through the STAT1 protein. To achieve this, we modified NK cells to include a specific genetic sequence that binds to STAT1 when activated. These engineered NK cells (GAS-NK) demonstrate their functionality through various biological tests and analysis. Observations of changes in cancer environments and patient-derived cancer organoid models further confirm the effectiveness of this approach. Our method provides a way to monitor NK cell activity, which could improve the prediction and effectiveness of NK cell-based cancer therapies, contributing to advances in cancer treatment.
Authors
- Kwan Soo Hong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4342-5183)
- Tae‐Don Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5910-4264)
- Mi Young Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5933-0516)
- Sang Keun Ha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3329-2279)
- Min Sung Park
- Eun Hee Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0137-0156)
- Hye Gwang Jeong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8020-8914)
- Dong Hwan Kim
- Sang-Yeop Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8257-6112)
- Hye Min Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1762-5238)
- Hye Sun Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3275-1437)
- Hyunseung Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2338-1945)
- Jin Young Min
Institutions
- Chungnam National University (KR)
- Korea Food Research Institute (KR)
- Korea Basic Science Institute (KR)
- Chung-Ang University (KR)
- Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KR)
- Korea University of Science and Technology (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Published
- 2024-09-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06917-9
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Immune Cell Function and Interaction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.72
Funders
- National Research Foundation
- Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology
- Korea Basic Science Institute
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea
- Korea Food Research Institute