Ricerc@Sapienza

Natural killer cells are an essential component of the innate immune system and play a crucial role in immunity against malignancies, without, at difference with T cells, requiring antigen priming or inducing graft-versus-host-disease. Hence, Natural Killer cells can provide a valuable source of allogeneic “off-the-shelf” adoptive therapy and mediate major antileukemia effects, without inducing potentially lethal alloreactivity. Several cell sources have been used for producing and expanding large numbers of clinical-grade natural killer cells.

Natural killer cells are an essential component of the innate immune system and play a crucial role in immunity against malignancies, without, at difference with T cells, requiring antigen priming or inducing graft-versus-host-disease. Hence, Natural Killer cells can provide a valuable source of allogeneic “off-the-shelf” adoptive therapy and mediate major antileukemia effects, without inducing potentially lethal alloreactivity. Several cell sources have been used for producing and expanding large numbers of clinical-grade natural killer cells.

Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic members of type I innate lymphocytes (ILC1) with a prominent role in antitumor
and anti-viral immune responses. Despite the increasing insight into NK cell biology, the steps and stages
leading to mature circulating NK cells require further investigation. Natural killer cell development and functional
maturation are complex and multi-stage processes that occur predominantly in the bone marrow (BM) and
originate from haematopoietic stem cells CD34+ (HSC). Within the BM, NK cell precursor (NKP) and NK cell