Adoptive cell therapy with cytokine-induced killer cells retargeted with immunotools against HER-2-expressing breast cancer

Cytokine-Induced Killer (CIK) cells are CD3+ CD56+ effector cells endowed with T and NK cells phenotypic and functional properties, easy to expand in clinically relevant numbers and able to exert an antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) if combined with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). In the present study, we evaluated the enhancement of CIK cell antigen-specific lytic activity in combination either with the bispecific antibody (bsAb) HER2xCD3, or with the engineered mAb Trastuzumab (TRS) V90Lec13.