Fig. 5
From: Co-expression of IL-21-Enhanced NKG2D CAR-NK cell therapy for lung cancer
IL-21 regulates CAR-NK cells via AKT signaling pathway. (A) NK-92, NKG2D CAR-NK-92, and NKG2D-IL-21 CAR-NK-92 cells were co-incubated with A549 cells at a 5:1 ratio for 4 h. The expression of p-AKT was detected by flow cytometry. (B) NK-92, NKG2D CAR-NK-92, and NKG2D-IL-21 CAR-NK-92 cells were co-incubated with A549 cells and inhibitor of p-AKT at a 5:1 ratio for 4 h. The expression of p-AKT was detected by flow cytometry. (C) Line plots displaying the cytotoxicity of NK-92, NKG2D CAR-NK-92, and NKG2D-IL-21 CAR-NK-92 cells which were co-incubated with A549 cells at a different effector to target (E:T) ratios for 4 h in the absence and presence of the 20 µM LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor). (D) NK-92, NKG2D CAR-NK-92, and NKG2D-IL-21 CAR-NK-92 cells were co-incubated with A549 cells at 5:1 ratio for 4 h in the absence and presence of 20 µM LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor). The production of IFN-γ was detected by flow cytometry. Data were representative of three independent experiments. ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001