About this Research Topic

Background

Natural killer (NK) cells are key players in tumor immunosurveillance, and as such, their cytolytic potential against tumors has been harnessed in the development of adoptive NK cell therapies as well as in systemic antibody therapies modulating their tumor-targeting capacity. Recently, pre-clinical studies and observations in cancer patients have given nuance to the role of NK cells in cancer progression and therapy by revealing novel interactions between NK cells and cells of the myeloid lineage that are consequential for the initiation and maintenance of adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. Notably, recent studies have showed that NK cells can orchestrate dendritic cell (DC) recruitment and activation to tumors. Furthermore, they have identified an NK-DC axis that can predict responses to immune checkpoint blockade. Together, these highlight the importance of understanding how NK cells interact with myeloid cells. Moreover, there are increasing reports describing the capacity of macrophages and neutrophils to provide activating and inhibitory signals to NK cells through both cell-to-cell contact and cytokine stimulation.

The aim of this Research Topic is to provide a comprehensive overview of our current knowledge of crosstalk between tumor-infiltrating NK cells and cells of the myeloid lineage. Importantly, we aim to emphasize how increased understanding of NK cell - myeloid cell crosstalk can help to better predict response to immunotherapy and inform the design of novel immunotherapeutic strategies.

We welcome contributions of Original Research and Review articles discerning the following topics:

1. Crosstalk between NK cells and DCs, and how reciprocal recruitment to solid tumors and induced activation orchestrates priming of adaptive tumor immune responses
2. Interactions between NK cells and suppressive myeloid cells (MDSCs, Macrophages, M1/M2 polarization)
3. NK cell activation/suppression by neutrophils
4. Modulation of NK cell anti-tumor activity by platelets
5. Elimination of immature myeloid cells by autologous NK cells and implications for cancer immunotherapy

Keywords: Natural killer cells, myeloid cells, dendritic cells, tumor microenvironment, cancer immunotherapy

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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