NK cell therapy - the ultimate conquest to cure cancer?

Yes. NK cells in the treatment of cancer, is currently considered the most promising ways.

What is the NK cell? NK cells are Natural Killer Cell (natural killer cells) for short. NK cells are found in 1970 after a lymphocyte subsets, for many years after its function was only to slowly understanding. The presence of three types of cells in the human body: B cells (specialized production of antibodies in the spleen mature), T cells (control cellular immunity, mature in the thymus), and NK cells (natural immune cells mature in the bone marrow). These three types of lymphocytes, we are more familiar with the first two, and accounted for ninety percent of total lymphocytes, the proportion of NK cells is not high, only 10-15%, but it is a natural immune cells, is the oldest efficient removal "insurgents' weapon, the study has confirmed that lie before an NK cell, it can kill the cancer cells 27.

In 1990, NK no MHC molecules by identifying cells that target cancer cells way to identify mechanisms to be found. This fact also explains why the NK cells are called natural killer cells, it is because you do not need to preNK contact with tumor cells, but the first encounter downregulation of MHC molecules of tumor cells will be through various means destruction, that this killing ability of NK cells are born, not the day after tomorrow have been in contact with tumor cells obtained after.

The last 20 years of research has been very determined a fact of human tumor incidence is inversely proportional with the NK cell levels. That is, the higher the blood levels of NK cells, the lower the probability of cancer. Therefore, raising the level of human NK cells will have a role in cancer prevention.

But Further, the patient has had cancer, whether by increasing the levels of NK cells to tumor treated? Yes, it can.

There is a boom in the treatment of tumors using NK cells around the world in recent years. Methods used basic similarity, it is to start pumping the patient blood, which will be separated lymphocytes (you can also use expensive equipment alone isolated NK cells), and then add various cytokines were cultured in a dish, NK cells (typically include other lymphocytes) may be within a few days at an exponential rate of growth multiples. Finally, NK cells will be amplified after appropriate treatment to fight back into the body, relying on NK natural killer cell viability killing of tumors, tumor therapeutic purposes. This method, although expensive, but can effectively reduce or stabilize tumor size, the biggest benefit is that no side effects caused by chemotherapy.

However, this method also have obvious deficiencies.

1.First, in such a way to amplify the NK cells were injected into the human body will not continue to proliferate after only way down, so to keep the injection;

2.Second, the entire operation procedures are complicated and expensive;

3.Third, this NK cell therapy, surgery and drug therapy ranged between, is still a gray area belonging legislation.

So there is no oral drugs, health food, after eating can enhance NK it? Yes, there are some. This is the total commitment TSE biotechnology research in the field, we have made a major breakthrough.