Acute myeloid leukemic cell lines loaded with synthetic dsRNA trigger IFN-γ secretion by human NK cells

Our results show that in vitro, NK cells become strong IFN-γ-secreting cells upon stimulation with specific AML cells and IFN-α, with a variable responsiveness against different AML cell lines. Importantly, loading of AML cells with poly(I:C) is an elegant method to provide NK cells with both signals, a feature that could have important clinical implications because it obviates the side effects of systemic cytokine administration. Moreover, in addition to our previous findings that DC become activated upon phagocytosis of poly(I:C)-electroporated AML cells, these data strongly encourage future research on the potential of dsRNA-transfected AML cells and their effect to favor NK-DC cross-talk for the design of leukemia vaccines.