Role of Natural Killer Cells on Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Abstract

In recent years, with the rapid advance in the investigation of Natural Killer (NK) receptors and their ligands, it has become possible to explain unequivocally an immune phenomenon related to NK cells in hematopoietic cell transplantation. NK cells mainly possess a binary function of cellular cytotoxicity and cytokine production, and they play an important role in rejection, GVHD, and GVL in hematopoietic cell transplantation. Those immune phenomena may reduce complications and improve survival in hematopoietic cell transplantation when we understand and employ the action of a particularly inhibitory NK receptor. Thus, it is with a beneficial outcome of hematopoietic cell transplantation as functional weapon in mind that we evaluate the degree of concordance between NK receptor and HLA-C in terms of donor choice.