Press Release / Health and Fitness / Trastuzumab activates NK cells for increased cytotoxicity

Trastuzumab activates NK cells for increased cytotoxicity

A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrates that NK cells became activated and express high levels of CD137 following their interaction with trastuzumab coated breast cancer cells. When researchers incubated pre-activated NK cells with HER2+ breast cancer cells in the presence of trastuzumab and an anti CD137 agonistic monoclonal antibody, they observed a significant increase in NK cell cytotoxicity.


These results illustrate a significant role for activated NK cells in improving cancer therapy. While in this form of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) NK cells become activated through the binding of their Fc-receptor with HER2-bound-trastuzumab, there is great potential for future studies to investigate how cytokine activation of NK cells could augment cancer therapies for various types of tumors.


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