ArticleImmunoTargets and therapy2026
An Exploratory in vitro Study of Cytotoxicity and Cytokine Profiling of Cytokine-Induced Killer (CIK) Cells Against HCT-15 Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Cells.
Article in ImmunoTargets and therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are a promising adoptive immunotherapy due to their non-major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted cytotoxicity. However, their cytokine-mediated response against CRC remains poorly defined. Methods: In this exploratory study, CIK cells were generated from three healthy donors and one metastatic CRC patient. Phenotypes were assessed by flow cytometry. Cytotoxicity against the HCT-15 CRC cell line was evaluated at multiple effector-to-target (E:T) ratios (1:5 to 40:1). Combination treatment with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cytokine profiling using a 105-plex array were performed using CIK cells from donor 2 and donor 3, respectively. Results: CIK cells derived from one CRC patient exhibited phenotypic characteristics (CD3⁺CD8⁺ 85.91%, CD3⁺CD56⁺ 27.81%) comparable to the range observed in three healthy donors. Co-culture with CIK cells from donor 1 resulted in reduced HCT-15 viability at higher E:T ratios, with viability decreasing to 8.98 ± 0.61% and 8.08 ± 2.00% at 20:1 and 40:1, respectively. In combination experiments, HCT-15 viability was reduced to 1.02 ± 1.01% at an E:T ratio of 20:1 when co-cultured with CIK from donor 2 and treated with 5-FU. Similar reductions were observed with CIK cells from donor 3 and the CRC patient, reaching 2.60 ± 5.86% and 0.0% at 20:1, and 0.0% at 40:1 ratio for both donors. CIK cells from all donors showed dose-dependent reduction in cell viability against HCT-15 cells. Cytokine profiling of CIK from donor 3 identified changes in immune-related factors, including upregulation of interferon gamma-inducible chemokines (CXCL9 and CXCL10), alongside downregulation of immunosuppressive mediators such as TIM-3 and VEGF. Conclusion: This exploratory study demonstrates that functional CIK cells can be generated from healthy individuals and CRC patients, with observed cytotoxic activity against HCT-15 cells. The findings suggest potential immunomodulatory effects and support further investigation of CIK cells in combination strategies; however, larger patient cohorts and functional validation studies are required.
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