ReviewCell death & disease2025
Multidimensional plasticity of natural killer cells in tumours.
Review in Cell death & disease, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Microbiome-guided cancer immunotherapy: immune mechanisms, resistance pathways, and translational opportunities for precision oncology.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Review
- Regulatory B-cell states in NSCLC immunotherapy resistance: mechanisms, spatial context and translational implications.Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII · 2026Review
- CD49aScientific reports · 2026Article
- A CCL4-enriched NK-cell transcriptional state is associated with inflammatory and myeloid-stromal programs in colorectal cancer liver metastasis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells exhibit remarkable adaptability within the tumour microenvironment (TME), where dynamic shifts in phenotype, function and metabolism govern their dual roles in antitumour immunity and tumour immune evasion. In the TME, NK cells undergo receptor remodelling, which is characterised by upregulated inhibitory signals and suppressed activating receptors, leading to the formation of dysfunctional subsets, such as exhausted TIM-3⁺ NK cells or tissue-resident CD49a⁺ populations. Immunosuppressive factors within the TME drive a transition from cytotoxic activity to regulatory or senescent-like states, impairing tumour surveillance. Metabolic reprogramming further compromises NK cell effector functions, as nutrient deprivation and metabolic byproducts disrupt energy pathways and suppress immune responses. Therapeutic strategies targeting this plasticity include engineered natural killer (NK) cells with enhanced specificity, metabolic restoration approaches and microenvironment-modulating interventions. However, challenges persist because of TME heterogeneity and persistent dysfunctional states. Understanding these adaptive mechanisms provides a framework for developing NK cell-based therapies that leverage plasticity to counteract tumour resistance.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.