Many people may have heard of NK Cell Therapy, but there are still some who are still wondering how NK Cells are beneficial to our body. Today the doctor will answer questions about how NK Cells are beneficial to our health.
The origin of the word "immunity"
Immunity comes from Latin. The word Immunis which means except In the past when Louis Pasteur (Louis Pasteur) discovered the rabies vaccine. At that time, no one understood the mechanism of how it could be prevented. Until in the 1930s, the first antibody was discovered by Alvin Gabus, later called humeral immunity.
Immunity is divided into 2 types.
1. Immunity that has been present since birth (Innate immunity)
It is immune to Not specific, not memorized, but there will be work on every foreign thing that enters our body. In the physical aspect, such as the skin, intestinal wall, various mucosa, including saliva, gastric juice, or various secretions. Secretion of inflammatory substances that include pain, swelling, redness, heat, and certain types of immune cells, such as Macrophage, Neutrophil and NK Cell
2. immunity that comes later
It is an immune system that has specificity must be remembered There is learning. for white blood cells The main role for this type of immunity is Lymphocyte (lymphocyte) by working must remember and learn. To respond quickly to infection or foreign objects When we meet next time Our body has applied knowledge in the matter of vaccines. which is like an injection To stimulate white blood cells to become soldiers, to remember and learn to work. And then respond more efficiently.
For immunity that has been present since birth, which is considered the first line of defense. We will get to know one important one, which is NK Cell.
Get to know NK Cell Therapy
NK Cells are created from the same type of bone marrow that creates lymphocytes, but their shape and function are different. NK Cells are large and have no specificity in their work. There is no protein coating on the cell surface. The work of NK Cell focuses on killing foreign cells, especially cancer cells. or a lump that has abnormal growth Including virus cells hidden in our body. Because normally there are 2,000 to 5,000 million NK Cells in our body.
For NK Cells, in addition to acting as an immune system, they are the first line of defense in killing cancer cells. When the body has recovered, NK Cells continue their duty of protection. Because they will look for foreign cells and destroy them immediately.
As for the working mechanism of NK Cell, there are 4 types.
- secretion of inflammatory substances
- destruction of foreign objects or direct foreign cells By secreting inflammatory substances into
- Stimulating foreign cells to die Also known as apoptosis.
- Directly killing foreign cells (ADCC; Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity)
Although the work is not specific, NK Cell itself will have a method for separating normal cells of the body out of foreign cellsby looking for proteins on the cell surface If that protein is displayed on foreign cells, NK Cells will take action. This mechanism makes NK Cell destroys only foreign cells. Then separate the normal cells of our body.
Having more NK Cells is better. Is it true?
Many people probably suspect that Having a high amount of NK Cells is better, right? But in fact, there are many studies that have found that It is the efficiency of NK Cells that indicates their quality in killing foreign substances in the body. Therefore, in addition to the general physical examination in terms of blood cells Checking the quantity and efficiency of NK Cell or NK Activity It will help us evaluate the quality of our body's immune system.
For NK Cells, they are divided into 2 types.
Dim and Bright types, with the Dim type having a quantity 90% of NK Cell. The way it works is that it works in a Natural Cytotoxi way, which is to kill cancer cells or foreign substances.Bright type It will work to help increase the secretion of inflammatory substances. Or that various chemicals to have a reaction Responds well to the immune system
Checking the efficiency of NK Cell or NK Activity
There are many types of examinations. By checking in a way that is similar to Gold Standard or standard examination is Bringing cancer cells Come dyed with calcein fluorescent dye. Then it was raised with NK cells to see their performance. Killing cancer cells using Natural Cytotoxicity This is a Dim type efficiency test that is over 90 percent for NK Cells in our body. Another type of test is Main examination of substances Interferon (Interferon), which is a Bright type of NK Cell.
For people who want to measure quantity levels and the quality of NK Cell work is recommended to be divided into 3 groups
- Groups that need screening which is a group of patients with cancer or normal people because their immune level Low NK Cell means that their efficiency in working and killing foreign cells is reduced.
- Check to assess your risk of developing cancer. Having a level of NK Activity or work performance NK that is lower will have a clear relationship with the chance of developing cancer.
- NK Activity and NK Quantity Testing Cell to follow up on treatment results Be it immunotherapy to treat cancer or infectious diseases. or following up on response to chemotherapy.
so Checking the efficiency of NK Cells will depend on the doctor who will help evaluate them. What kind of examination to choose? in order to choose treatment or health care protection
Factors affecting the performance of NK Cells
- age When you get older The production efficiency of NK Cell quantity and work will decrease.
- stress There is a study that When the body is stressed, hormones are secreted in response to stress. This hormone will affect the performance of NK Cell, causing it to decrease. Therefore, controlling stress or managing stress will make our immune system stronger.
- lifestyle or behavior in life, we foundGroup of people who eat vegetables every dayCompared to people who eat vegetables 1 time per week. It was found that the performance of NK Cells was clearly higher than those who performed it once per week. And it is clearly seen in the group of women more than men. In addition, additional studies have found that eating meat which should be meat from grass-fed animals and soy milk products on a daily basis It will be able to increase the performance of NK Cell. Here the doctor would like to add that Choosing healthy products or choosing food should be organic or non-toxic.
- Length of time for eating Here, there is a study that found that person eatingtime and do not eat between meals Compared to people who do not eat at regular intervals There will be a significantly high efficiency of NK Cell work.
- People who are overweight It also affects the work of NK Cell. Research has found that When body weight decreases, it will be seen that the work of NK Cell by all 4 mechanisms works better. Whether it's a matter of NK Cell production, secretion of inflammatory substances In order to make the efficiency of the immune response better destruction of foreign cells Or that cancer cells work better?
- adequate rest Research has found thatPeople who sleep more than 7 hours per day have high NK Activity or the performance of NK Cells.than people who sleep less than 7 hours, however Each person's rest hours may not be the same. It depends on the quality of rest and deep sleep of each person.
- smoking Found to cause NK Activity or efficiency to decrease. From the study it was found that Smoking more than 500 cigarettes per year will reduce the amount of NK Activity. In addition, it was found that Drinking only a small amount of alcohol, less than 1000 ML per year, will increase NK Activity. But if you drink alcohol together with smoking It was found to cause NK Activity or efficiency to decrease significantly.
- Fasting for a period of time or doing IF (Intermittent Fasting) Helps stimulate the work of NK Cells. โดยการศึกษาวิจัยพบว่า เวลาที่เราทำ IF หรือ Intermittent Fasting จนจะทำให้ร่างกายเกิดกระบวนการนึงที่มีชื่อเรียกว่า Autophagy or the eating of one's own cells. The process of Autophagy will stimulate the immune system. To work and eat foreign things Or that it resists infection, especially viruses. Whether it is promoting the work of NK Cell or T-Cell, the Autophagy process will be stimulated. and promote the efficiency of the immune system in our body
- exercise It is a factor that promotes the performance of NK Cell. From research studies it is found that Exercise that improves circulation also increases the amount of NK. Cell In addition, it also increases the amount of T-Cell and B-Cell white blood cells for exercise in appropriate conditions. or moderate exercise It will reduce the inflammatory process in the body. and increases the work of NK Cell both efficiency Moderate exercise is Exercise that causes your heart rate to be 64 to 67% of maximum. If calculated according to the formula, it is 220 minus age or measured as RPE at the level of 12-13 or if you want to measure it easily. That is, during exercise we can speak but cannot sing. For exercise, there are many forms such as running, treadmill walking, and circuit training. Or you can swim.
- Supplementing good microorganisms in the intestines The issue of intestinal health is equally important. Supplementing good microorganisms in the intestines It will make the performance of NK Cell better. Because NK Cells are produced from the bone marrow. and then passed into the bloodstream It will be stored in the lymph nodes, which 80% is in our intestines. Therefore, if we have a good balance of good microorganisms in our intestines. It will promote the work of NK Cell and be more efficient. Respond to the immune system better.
For increasing the number and efficiency of NK Cells, it is to reduce various factors. Whether it's a matter of stress management Changing health behavior and lifestyle About food Eating vegetables Eating less sugar will help reduce inflammatory processes in the body and boost the immune system. Smoking, drinking alcohol. adequate rest exercise Supplementing good microorganisms in the intestines Including fasting or doing IF will promote stronger health and increase the performance of NK Cells.
In addition, there is alsoSome vitamins and supplements that help increase the efficiency of NK Cells are being studied more widely. in using nutritional supplements which must be considered as appropriate
At present, various technologies are being introduced. To help in increasing the efficiency and quantity of NK Cell is to bring in the patient's own immune cells. To be grown in a laboratory to increase quantity and quality. Then it is injected back into the patient. which this treatment
It is widely done. Whether it's in Japan, the United States, as well as in Thailand itself.
It can be seen that taking care of one's own physical health To increase immunity, both the quality and quantity of NK Cells must use a variety of factors. It depends on the health of each person.
Therefore, the basic health of each person is different. Health care should be individualized. to increase accuracy and the highest treatment efficiency
References:
- The impact of aging on natural killer function and potential consequences for health in older adults
- Regulation of natural killer activity by glucocorticoids, serotonin, dopamine, and epinephrine
- Intermittent fasting, a possible priming tool for host defense against SARS-CoV-2 infection: Crosstalk among calorie restriction, autophagy and immune response
- Dysregulation of Natural Killer in Obesity
- Exercise-Dependent Regulation of NK in Cancer Protection
- The compelling link between physical activity and the body's defense system