Figure 4.
Combination lenalidomide‐rituximab repairs NK cell immune synapse dysfunction and enhances NK cytolytic activity in autologous tumour cells from FL patients. (A–B) Treated Natural Killer (NK) cells (interleukin 2 treatment with or without lenalidomide (Len, 1 μmol/l), were conjugated with autologous labelled follicular lymphoma (FL)B cells (blue) treated with rituximab (1 μg/ml), Len (1 μmol/l), or the combination. Confocal microscopy images and quantitative analysis of (A) NK cell F‐actin immune synapse formation (F‐actin, red) interactions with autologous tumour FL cells (blue) and (B) expression of granzyme B (green) from representative patient and drug treatment groups. Quantification of the total area (μm2) of F‐actin polymerization or the sum intensity of granzyme B at NK cell contact sites and synapses with FL B cells (arrows) is shown. (C) NK cell‐mediated killing of FL B cells in Len, rituximab or Len + rituximab treated cells. Data are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean (n = 6). *P < 0·05 by one‐way anova.