Supporting Data for "Implications of Natural Killer Cell Phenotype and Genotype in Immunotherapy for Neuroblastoma"

<p dir="ltr">Neuroblastoma, a prevalent childhood solid cancer, is responsible for 15% of cancer-related deaths in paediatric patients. The standard treatments for neuroblastoma include chemotherapy, surgical methods and radiotherapy, but the efficiency of these treatments reduces along with the stage of disease. Recently, Natural killer (NK) cell therapy has been incorporated as a treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma. NK cells contribute a vital role in anti-tumour immunity. To gain fundamental insights into the functional capabilities of NK cells in neuroblastoma control, a comprehensive study of the relationship between the cytotoxicity of NK cells and their phenotype and genotype using prospectively collected patient samples at multiple time-points during the patient journey is warranted.</p><p dir="ltr">In this study, neuroblastoma patients were recruited to investigate the longitudinal NK cell characteristics throughout chemotherapy, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), NK cell infusion and anti-GD2 immunotherapy. Patient blood samples were collected for the investigation of NK cell cytotoxicity, phenotyping and KIR genotyping. The cytotoxic activity of NK cells was examined using flow-based cytotoxicity assay in K562 cells and IMR-32 cells. The phenotypic characteristics were analysed by flow cytometry, and the KIR genotypes were evaluated through PCR-SSP and gel electrophoresis.</p>