AUTHOR=Tong Xing , Ru Yuhua , Fu Jianhong , Wang Ying , Zhu Jinjin , Ding Yiyang , Lv Fulian , Yang Menglu , Wei Xiya , Liu Chenchen , Liu Xin , Lei Lei , Wu Xiaojin , Guo Lingchuan , Xu Yang , Li Jie , Wu Peng , Gong Huanle , Chen Jia , Wu Depei TITLE=Fucosylation Promotes Cytolytic Function and Accumulation of NK Cells in B Cell Lymphoma JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.904693 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.904693 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Natural killer (NK) cells have been demonstrated as a promising cellular therapy as they exert potent anti-tumor immune responses. However, applications of NK cells to tumor immunotherapy, especially in the treatment of advanced hematopoietic and solid malignancies, are still limited due to the compromised survival and short persistence of the transferred NK cells in vivo. Here, we observed that fucosyltransferase (FUT) 7 and 8 were highly expressed on NK cells, and the expression of CLA was positively correlated with the accumulation of NK cells in clinical B cell lymphoma development. Via enzyme-mediated ex vivo cell-surface fucosylation, the cytolytic effect of NK cells against B cell lymphoma was significantly augmented. Fucosylation also promoted NK cell accumulation in B cell lymphoma-targeted tissues by enhancing their binding to E-selectin. Moreover, fucosylation of NK cells also facilitated stronger T cell anti-tumor immune responses. These findings suggest that ex vivo fucosylation contributes to enhancing the effector functions of NK cells and may serve as a novel strategy for tumor immunotherapy.