The Paradoxical Role of NKG2D in Cancer Immunity

Bibliographic Details
Title: The Paradoxical Role of NKG2D in Cancer Immunity
Authors: Sam Sheppard, Amir Ferry, Joana Guedes, Nadia Guerra
Source: Frontiers in Immunology, Vol 9 (2018)
Publisher Information: Frontiers Media S.A., 2018.
Publication Year: 2018
Collection: LCC:Immunologic diseases. Allergy
Subject Terms: NKG2D, cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, inflammation, CD8+ T cells, natural killer cells, Immunologic diseases. Allergy, RC581-607
More Details: The activating receptor NKG2D and its ligands are recognized as a potent immune axis that controls tumor growth and microbial infections. With regards to cancer surveillance, various studies have demonstrated the antitumor function mediated by NKG2D on natural killer cells and on conventional and unconventional T cells. The use of NKG2D-deficient mice established the importance of NKG2D in delaying tumor development in transgenic mouse models of cancer. However, we recently demonstrated an unexpected, flip side to this coin, the ability for NKG2D to contribute to tumor growth in a model of inflammation-driven liver cancer. With a focus on the liver, here, we review current knowledge of NKG2D-mediated tumor surveillance and discuss evidence supporting a dual role for NKG2D in cancer immunity. We postulate that in certain advanced cancers, expression of ligands for NKG2D can drive cancer progression rather than rejection. We propose that the nature of the microenvironment within and surrounding tumors impacts the outcome of NKG2D activation. In a form of autoimmune attack, NKG2D promotes tissue damage, mostly in the inflamed tissue adjacent to the tumor, facilitating tumor progression while being ineffective at rejecting transformed cells in the tumor bed.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1664-3224
Relation: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01808/full; https://doaj.org/toc/1664-3224
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01808
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/f7a8c0970b5746d5b6894f1432d6d4d5
Accession Number: edsdoj.f7a8c0970b5746d5b6894f1432d6d4d5
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:16643224
DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2018.01808
Published in:Frontiers in Immunology
Language:English