Table 2. NK cell receptors and function in HCC.
| Source | Age (years) | Sex (M/F) | No. of cases | TNM (I/II/III/IV) | Receptors | Ligand | Cytolysis | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activating receptors | ||||||||
| Blood | 68±9 | 177∶55 | 232 | 59/68/64/39 | NKG2D↓ | sMICA/B↑ | 98 | |
| 52∶8 | 60 | NKG2D↓ | sMICA↑ | 96 | ||||
| Blood | 26 | NKG2D↓ | sMICA↑ | Cytolysis↓ | 66 | |||
| Blood | 70.2±7.99 | 33∶28 | 61 | KIR2DS5↑ (with TTR↑, OS↑)KIR3DS1↑ | HLA-Bw4T80↑ | 67 | ||
| Tissue | 65.4±10.8 | 44∶10 | 54 | NKG2D↓ | ULBP1↑ | CD107a↓ | 99 | |
| 68±9 | 177∶55 | 232 | 59/68/64/39 | NKG2D↓ | sMICA/B↑ | 98 | ||
| Inhibitory receptors | ||||||||
| Blood | 57.1 (42–74) | 17∶1 | 18 | KIR, KIR2DL, and CD94: NS | 80 | |||
| 70.2±7.99 | 33∶28 | 61 | KIR2DL2 (with OS↓, TTR↑) | HLA-C1 | 67 | |||
| Tissue | 57.1 (49–68) | 5∶2 | 7 | KIR↓ (8.9% vs. 37.85%), CD94↓ (21% vs. 45.95%) compared to HC | 80 | |||
| Tissue | 22 | KIR↓, CD94↓ | 79 | |||||
| Tissue | 46 | KIR↓ | Cytolysis↓ | 81 | ||||
Abbreviations: HC, healthy control; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; NK, natural killer; NS, not significant; OS, overall survival; TTR, time to recurrence.