Nicolas Hubacz: Natural Killer Cells versus Cancer
Nicolas Hubacz, Research and Clinical Products Business Development Manager at Magstim, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Natural Killer Cells versus Cancer
This footage shows natural killer (NK) cells attacking a cancer cell in vitro.
Unlike other immune cells that require prior exposure to recognize a threat, NK cells act as first responders.
They patrol the body looking for cells that appear abnormal — especially those that have lost the molecular signals that normally tell the immune system ‘I belong here.’
Once identified, the NK cell binds to the target and releases cytotoxic granules containing perforin and granzymes.
These molecules punch microscopic holes in the cancer cell’s membrane and trigger internal pathways that lead to cell death.
Why this matters:
- Innate immune defense: NK cells respond rapidly without prior sensitization
- Cancer surveillance: They detect cells that evade traditional immune recognition
- Therapeutic potential: NK – cell – based immunotherapies are being explored for leukemia, lymphoma, and solid tumors
In this microscopic battle, what looks like a simple cellular interaction is actually the immune system executing a precise and highly evolved anti – cancer strategy.
Credit to Tsutomu Tomita for the great work!”
Proceed to the video attached to the post.
Jim Hoffman, Former Technical Advisor at Cygnus Technologies, LLC, shared this post on LinkedIn:
“Tumor cells that aggregate with other cell types in extracellular chromatin clusters, particularly with neutrophils that release their NETs, demonstrate greater cell-cycle progression and metastatic potential.
Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. plans to target this synergistic relationship and disrupt it with DNase for potential improvement in the efficacy of existing anti – cancer therapies.
A bad crowd:
- Tumor cells often metastasize in clusters with other cells, offering novel targets for treatments.
- Neutrophils escort circulating tumour cells to enable cell cycle progression
- Neutrophil extracellular traps sequester circulating tumor cells and promote metastasis
The videocasts of Mikala Egeblad et al, who use Fluorescent Intravital Microscopy Imaging to study NETosis-mediated cancer metastasis in real time:
‘NETs in Flames: Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Disease’
‘Metastatic Cancer: difficult to treat and responsible for most cancer deaths’ ”
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