Bidirectional interactions of NK cells and dendritic cells in immunotherapy: current and future perspective

NK cells and dendritic cells (DC) are innate cellular components that regulate adaptive immune responses in the immune surveillance of cancer and infections. Interactions of NK and DC are bidirectional. In this mini review, we summarized how NK cells regulate immature DC editing and maturation, how DC regulate NK-cell functions reciprocally in the NK–DC crosstalk, and the importance of NK–DC crosstalk in antitumor immunity. Enhancing NK–DC crosstalk by cellular factor(s), antibodies or creating a microenvironment that promote NK activations, DC maturation and NK–DC crosstalk will provide new insights into future development of DC-based immunotherapy.