The use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) in natural killer (NK) cells for cancer therapy is gaining momentum, marking a significant shift in cancer treatment. This review aims to explore the potential of CAR-NK cell therapy in cancer immunotherapy, providing a fresh perspective. It discusses the innovative approaches in CAR-NK cell design and engineering, particularly targeting refractory or recurrent cancers. By comparing CAR-NK cells with traditional therapies, the review highlights their unique ability to tackle tumor heterogeneity and immune system suppression. Additionally, it explains how novel cytokines and receptors can enhance CAR-NK cell efficacy, specificity, and functionality. This review underscores the advantages of CAR-NK cells, including reduced toxicity, lower cost, and broader accessibility compared to CAR-T cells, along with their potential in treating both blood cancers and solid tumors.

Background: Previous studies have hinted at a significant link between lung cancer and the gut microbiome, yet their causal relationship remains to be elucidated.Methods: GWAS data for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) was extracted from the FinnGen consortium, comprising 179 cases and 218 613 controls. Genetic variation data for 211 gut microbiota were obtained as instrumental variables from MiBioGen. Mendelian randomization (MR) was employed to determine the causal relationship between the two, with inverse variance weighting (IVW) being the primary method for causal analysis. The MR results were validated through several sensitivity analyses.Results: The study identified a protective effect against SCLC for the genus Eubacterium ruminantium group (OR = 0.413, 95% CI: 0.223–0.767, p = 0.00513), genus Barnesiella (OR = 0.208, 95% CI: 0.0640–0.678, p = 0.00919), family Lachnospiraceae (OR = 0.319, 95% CI: 0.107–0.948, p = 0.03979), and genus Butyricimonas (OR = 0.376, 95% CI: 0.144–0.984, p = 0.04634). Conversely, genus Intestinibacter (OR = 3.214, 95% CI: 1.303–7.926, p = 0.01125), genus Eubacterium oxidoreducens group (OR = 3.391, 95% CI: 1.215–9.467, p = 0.01973), genus Bilophila (OR = 3.547, 95% CI: 1.106–11.371, p = 0.03315), and order Bacillales (OR = 1.860, 95% CI: 1.034–3.347, p = 0.03842) were found to potentially promote the onset of SCLC.Conclusion: We identified potential causal relationships between certain gut microbiota and SCLC, offering new insights into microbiome‐mediated mechanisms of SCLC pathogenesis, resistance, mutations, and more.

Endometriosis is a prevalent condition with notable impacts on fertility. Recent studies have implicated gut microbiota in the development of endometriosis associated infertility (EAI). This study employs Mendelian randomization (MR) to elucidate the causal relationship between specific gut microbes and EAI. Using MR, we selected single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with 211 gut microbiota taxa from large-scale genome-wide association studies summary data. We applied statistical methods including inverse variance weighting, weighted median, and MR-Egger for analysis. Outliers were identified through the leave-one-out method. MR-Egger intercept tests were conducted to address horizontal pleiotropy, while Cochran Q and P values assessed heterogeneity. The false discovery rate method was used for multiple testing correction. Sensitivity analysis and F statistics evaluated the reliability and potential biases of our results. The inverse variance weighting method indicated a significant association of the genus Actinomyces (OR = 1.657, 95% CI: 1.187–2.312, P = .00298) with an increased risk of EAI. Conversely, genera Holdemania (OR = 0.630, 95% CI: 0.444–0.894, P = .00969) and Ruminococcaceae NK4A214 group (OR = 0.689, 95% CI: 0.481–0.999, P = .0439) appeared as protective factors. MR-PRESSO global test and MR-Egger regression indicated no significant horizontal pleiotropy (P > .05). Leave-one-out analysis confirmed the robustness of these findings. Our study provides evidence of a causal relationship between specific gut microbiome taxa and EAI. These findings offer novel insights and may guide the development of new preventive and therapeutic strategies for managing EAI.

The versatile bacterium Kytococcus schroeteri is known for producing putative secondary metabolites. These include antimicrobials and other therapeutically significant compounds. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has necessitated the exploration of possible sources for novel drug candidates. This study focuses on the genome mining of Kytococcus schroeteri to explore its secondary metabolites through biosynthetic gene clusters. It analyzes their drug-like properties through in-silico methods and evaluates their potential as antimicrobial agents. Eight biosynthetic gene clusters were identified in two strains (H01 and UMB1298) of this bacterium. Among the unique 49 metabolites from these clusters, 13 metabolites were selected according to the Lipinski rule of five. Physiochemical properties, pharmacokinetic analysis, toxicity profiles, and human target predictions of these metabolites were performed, and they were examined for crucial interactions with M. tuberculosis's RpfB protein, the causative agent of latent tuberculosis. All metabolites were predicted to be non-toxic and did not inhibit any human proteins. Several metabolites, including a subset of brasilanes, exhibited both low acute toxicity and promising interactions with GLU292, the critical residue of the RpfB protein. The interaction affinity of the ligands with RpfB was validated by subjecting one of the complexes to a 100 ns MD simulation. The RMSD, RMSF, and binding energy calculations indicated a stable interaction of the ligand with the receptor protein, which raised the possibility of novel drugs to combat antibiotic resistance. The putative metabolites identified in this study not only exhibit molecular properties but also possess characteristics that support physiological compatibility. It also heightens their potential effectiveness as therapeutic antibacterial alternates. The experimental validation of our computational results may open an avenue to explore the potential of K. schroeteri for producing novel compounds to combat the antibiotic resistance in M. tuberculosis.

The use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) in natural killer (NK) cells for cancer therapy is gaining momentum, marking a significant shift in cancer treatment. This review aims to explore the potential of CAR-NK cell therapy in cancer immunotherapy, providing a fresh perspective. It discusses the innovative approaches in CAR-NK cell design and engineering, particularly targeting refractory or recurrent cancers. By comparing CAR-NK cells with traditional therapies, the review highlights their unique ability to tackle tumor heterogeneity and immune system suppression. Additionally, it explains how novel cytokines and receptors can enhance CAR-NK cell efficacy, specificity, and functionality. The review underscores the advantages of CAR-NK cells, including reduced toxicity, lower cost, and broader accessibility compared to CAR-T cells, along with their potential in treating both blood cancers and solid tumors.

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