Conclusions
The proposed strategy endows NK cells with a tumor-specific targeting ability to enhance adoptive therapeutic efficiency in GPC3+ hepatocellular carcinoma.
Methods
NK cells were modified with a Gpc3 DNA aptamer on the cell surface via metabolic glycoengineering to endow NK cells with specific targeting ability. Then, the G-NK cells were evaluated for their specific targeting properties, cytotoxicity and secretion of cytokines in vitro. Finally, we investigated the therapeutic efficiency of G-NK cells against glypican-3+ tumor cells in vivo.
Results
Compared with NK cells modified with a random aptamer mutation and unmodified NK cells, G-NK cells induced significant apoptosis/necrosis of GPC3+ tumor cells and secreted cytokines to preserve the intense cytotoxic activities. Moreover, G-NK cells significantly suppressed tumor growth in HepG2 tumor-bearing mice due to the enhanced enrichment of G-NK cells at the tumor site. Conclusions: The proposed strategy endows NK cells with a tumor-specific targeting ability to enhance adoptive therapeutic efficiency in GPC3+ hepatocellular carcinoma.