Trifunctional antibodies unleash NK cells

摘要

The concept of engineering multifunctional antibodies that tether killer cells to cancer cells is not new, and the first bispecific antibody, blinatumomab, binding to both the T cell receptor and the B cell antigen CD19, received FDA approval in 2017. However, therapeutic approaches that induce powerful T cell responses can also lead to life-threatening cytokine-release syndrome in patients. Now, Eric Vivier and colleagues report the development of trispecific antibodies that engage two activating receptors on natural killer (NK) cells as well as a tumour-specific antigen and show that this 'NK cell engager' (NKCE) has potent activity in in vivo models.