Enhancement of the Anticancer Ability of Natural Killer Cells through Allogeneic Mitochondrial Transfer

Simple Summary Conventional natural killer (NK)-based anticancer immunotherapy has a limitation: a culture period of approximately 2 weeks is required to increase the number and activity of NK cells. By transferring functional allogeneic mitochondria into NK cells, we demonstrated that the activity of NK cells and their cytotoxicity were significantly enhanced. This approach could potentially offer a timely therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment without the need for in vitro culture, which can be time-consuming and costly. An in vitro culture period of at least 2 weeks is required to produce sufficient natural killer (NK) cells for immunotherapy, which are the key effectors in hematological malignancy treatment. Mitochondrial damage and fragmentation reduce the NK cell immune surveillance capacity. Thus, we hypothesized that the transfer of healthy mitochondria to NK cells could enhance their anticancer effects. Allogeneic healthy mitochondria isolated from WRL-68 cells were transferred to NK cells. We evaluated NK cells' proliferative capacity, cell cycle, and cytotoxic capacity against various cancer cell types by analyzing specific lysis and the cytotoxic granules released. The relationship between the transferred allogenic mitochondrial residues and NK cell function was determined. After mitochondrial transfer, the NK cell proliferation rate was 1.2-fold higher than that of control cells. The mitochondria-treated NK cells secreted a 2.7-, 4.1-, and 5-fold higher amount of granzyme B, perforin, and IFN-& gamma;, respectively, when co-cultured with K562 cells. The specific lysis of various solid cancer cells increased 1.3-1.6-fold. However, once allogeneic mitochondria were eliminated, the NK cell activity returned to the pre-mitochondrial transfer level. Mitochondria-enriched NK cells have the potential to be used as a novel solid cancer treatment agent, without the need for in vitro cytokine-induced culture.

Automated summary

Conventional natural killer (NK)-based anticancer immunotherapy requires a 2-week culture period to enhance the activity and number of NK cells. By transferring allogeneic mitochondria into NK cells, we significantly enhanced their activity and cytotoxicity. This approach could offer a timely therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment without the need for time-consuming and costly in vitro culture.