NK cells control breast cancer and related cancer stem cell hematological spread

Abstract

The growth and recurrence of a number of cancers is driven by a scarce population of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are resistant to most current therapies. It has been shown previously that natural killer (NK) cells recognize human glioma, melanoma, colon and prostate CSCs <i>in vitro</i>. We herein show that human and mouse breast CSCs are also susceptible to NK cytotoxic activity <i>in vitro</i>. Moreover, CSC induced autologous NK cell activation and expansion <i>in vivo</i>, which correlate with the inhibition of CSC metastatic spread. These data suggest that NK cells control CSC metastatic spread <i>in vivo</i> and that their use in breast cancer therapy may well be fruitful.