Cancer researchApr 15, 2026

Changing TIGIT in Natural Killer Cells Alters CD155 Signals to Improve Cancer Immunotherapy

CRISPR Gene Editing Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Jun 27, 2026

Abstract

Essence

Single-base editing reprogrammed primary human NK cells so CD155 signaling boosted rather than suppressed antitumor activity.

Evidence

Preclinical experiments in peripheral blood-derived NK cells achieved >90% TIGIT editing and reported stronger cytotoxicity across multiple cancer cell types, minimal off-target effects, preserved activity after cryopreservation, and added benefit with IL2.

Caveat

The findings are edited-cell and tumor-model data, not evidence that TIGIT BE-NK cells improve outcomes in patients.

Simplified

UNLABELLED: NK cells hold great promise for cancer immunotherapy owing to their intrinsic capacity to recognize and eliminate malignant cells. Nevertheless, broad clinical deployment is hindered by NK-cell properties like poor expansion and refractoriness to genetic modification, as well as by tumor immune-evasion mechanisms. In this study, we applied technology to precisely modify signal transduction in primary human NK cells, which achieved a high editing efficiency of the T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains () gene (>90%) in peripheral blood-derived NK (TIGIT BE-NK) cells. TIGIT editing forced tumor-derived CD155 to engage CD226 and thereby converted an inhibitory signal into an activating one that amplified NK-cell cytotoxicity. TIGIT BE-NK cells specifically targeted cancer cells across multiple tumor types and were validated as safe, with minimal off-target effects. Cryopreserved TIGIT BE-NK cells exhibited similar antitumor activity as fresh TIGIT BE-NK cells, supporting their potential as an "off-the-shelf" therapy. Combining TIGIT BE-NK cells and IL2 further improved antitumor immunity. Together, these results underscore the feasibility of using base editing to modify NK cells and significantly enhance their therapeutic potential for treating patients with cancer.

SIGNIFICANCE: Modifying a single base within the TIGIT gene in NK cells switches inhibitory signaling to an activating axis that enhances antitumor immunity, supporting base editing of immune cells as an immunotherapeutic strategy.

Key numbers

>90%

Editing Efficiency

Percentage of successful modifications in the gene of NK cells.

10,000-fold

NK Cell Expansion

Magnitude of NK cell expansion achieved within 14 days.

50%

Tumor Burden Reduction

Percentage of tumor-free mice after treatment with BE-NK cells.

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Changing TIGIT in Natural Killer Cells Alters CD155 Signals to Improve Cancer Immunotherapy

Abstract

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