Immunotherapy: Isolation and Detection of Exosomes of Natural Killer Cells

Natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapies show increasing research popularity in cancer treatment. With the ability to kill target cells in a non-MHC-restricted manner (Major Histocompatibility Complex), NK cells have drawn remarkable attention for their effectiveness and significance. In particular, exosome isolation and detection are crucial in clinical use because exosomes can serve as valuable biomarkers for examining diseases. Their ability to carry and transfer biomolecules makes them an effective tool that can provide the world with a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms and develop new therapies by harnessing the potential of exosomes. Moreover, NK cell-derived exosomes (NK-Exo) also have a significant effect on cancer treatment. They direct the immune system to generate effective antitumor immune responses, making them an adaptive therapy in treating cancer. In these cases, this research aims to suggest an optimal method to isolate and detect exosomes of NK cells, which are the critical first steps in employing NK-Exos into clinical applications. Isolating them by ultracentrifugation, observing them under fluorescence microscopy, and detecting protein markers in exosomes will surely allow us to understand the significance of exosomes in nuanced detail.