Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42237539›Full record

ArticleMolecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy2026

Therapeutic bacteria-trained NK cells confer long-term protection against cancer metastasis.

Li Rong, Jingchu Hu, Wei Jin, Renhao Li, Yangfan Wu, Nan Zhou, Xiaoyu Zhao, Zhongjun Zhou, Md Shakhawat Hosen, Xiaolei Wang and 8 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. AttenuatedFrontiers in immunology · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Li RongState Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: li.rong@siat.ac.cn.
Jingchu HuSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Wei JinSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; Pediatric Research Institute, Dongguan Children Hospital, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China.
Renhao LiSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Yangfan WuSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Nan ZhouState Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China.
Xiaoyu ZhaoSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Zhongjun ZhouSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; Pediatric Research Institute, Dongguan Children Hospital, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China.
Md Shakhawat HosenSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Xiaolei WangSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Shuo HanSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Huarui GongState Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Xuansheng LinSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Wenjun LiSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Yige HeSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Sukbum KimSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Qiubin LinSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Jian-Dong HuangState Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Cancer Metastasis and Personalized Therapy, Department of Clinical Oncology, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518053, China; Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for RNA Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China; Materials Innovation Institute for Life Sciences and Energy (MILES), HKU-SIRI, Shenzhen, P.R. China. Electronic address: jdhuang@hku.hk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metastasis causes 90% of cancer-related deaths, yet preventive strategies remain limited. Here, we report that a single dose of therapeutic Salmonella, a prominent anti-tumor bacterial therapy, provides long-lasting protection against metastasis in mice by inducing "trained" natural killer (NK) cells. Integrated functional and multi-omics analyses revealed that Salmonella-trained NK (stNK) cells establish an enduring reprogrammed epigenome characterized by enhanced pro-survival signaling and immune effector functions, resulting in more potent IFN-γ release and cytotoxicity upon secondary stimulation. We further showed that this training requires a transient pulse of IL-12 combined with sustained IL-18 signaling. Crucially, stNK cells significantly outperform conventional immune checkpoint therapies, including PD-1 and TIGIT blockade, in preventing metastasis, underscoring the unique immunological mechanisms in combating metastasis. These findings highlight the potential of bacterial cancer vaccines or trained NK cells as effective strategies for metastasis prevention.

Indexed as

Killer Cells, NaturalNeoplasmsSalmonellaAnimalsCancer VaccinesCell Line, TumorDisease Models, AnimalHumansImmunotherapyInterleukin-12Interleukin-18MiceNeoplasm MetastasisTrained ImmunityCancer VaccinesInterleukin-12Interleukin-18cancer immunotherapymetastasisNK cellsSalmonellatrained immunity

Identifiers

PMID42237539
PMCPMC13464150

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.