Supercharged natural killer cells can target and destroy autoantibody-producing cells, which contribute to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and systemic sclerosis. Results from clinical trials indicate that engineered natural killer cells could reset the immune system, restoring a healthy immune function. This method builds upon existing cancer therapies that employ genetically engineered T cells, which have shown effectiveness in treating some autoimmune disorders. However, access to current CAR-T-cell therapies remains limited for many patients in the United States due to complexity and cost.
"Natural killer cells have evolved to seek and destroy abnormal cells," says Nadir Mahmood, president of Nkarta, a biotechnology company in South San Francisco, California. "And if that's deep enough to drive an immune-system reset, then you can have the reconstitution of a healthy and naive immune system."
Before the killers, this approach has its roots in cancer therapies that rely on another kind of immune cell, called T cells, that can be genetically engineered to recognize and kill tumours.
CAR T cells can send some forms of blood cancer into remissions lasting more than a decade, and they have shown early promise against certain autoimmune disorders.
These factors mean that, at present, only about one-quarter of people in the United States who might benefit from CAR-T-cell cancer therapies can access them, says Katy Rezvani.
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