Natural killer (NK) cells are a class of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Most mature NK cells are cytolytic and they can recognize and eliminate tumor cells directly without antigen-specific activation, making them attractive options as cell-based therapeutic agents. NK cell-based immunotherapies (e.g. Chimeric Antigen Receptor-NK cells) have garnered significant attention as potential cancer treatments (1). One of the critical factors that influence the clinical efficacy of NK cell therapies is the persistence of NK cells in the host. It has been shown that an average NK cell persistence is seven days post-administration (2). Recently, cytokine cocktails that can induce memory-type NK cells have been developed, and they are expected to have greater responsiveness upon re-exposure to antigens and prolonged persistence (3, 4). Here, we show application of VisionSort to distinguish and enrich memory-type NK cells from the rest of NK cells without the need for traditional labels. potentially enhancing therapeutic efficacy.
