Natural cellular cytotoxicity in tumour surveillance and immunity to infections

我们试图找出被称为自然杀伤(NK)细胞的白细胞是如何对抗微生物和肿瘤的。我们知道，NK细胞在试管中具有杀死感染细胞和肿瘤细胞的自然倾向，但在人体内研究这些机制是困难的。因此，我们在研究中使用了小鼠，因为它们的免疫防御机制定义得很好，与我们的非常相似。通过在实验室小鼠身上模拟人类疾病，我们正在获得关于如何利用我们的自然资源潜力来抗击感染和癌症的重要见解。例如，我们已经确定了一个单一的基因，它可以调节杀伤细胞的活动，并防止病毒感染和血源性癌症。我们现在正试图发现NK细胞如何攻击一种被称为黑色素瘤的皮肤癌。通过更多地了解我们的自然防御系统是如何工作的，我们将能够想出更有效的治疗感染和癌症的方法。

We try to find out how white blood cells called natural killer (NK) cells fight microbes and tumours. We know that NK cells have a natural tendency to kill infected and tumour cells in the test tube, however it is difficult to study these mechanisms in the human body. So we use mice in our research, because their immune defences are well defined and fairly similar to ours. By modelling human diseases in laboratory mice, we are gaining important insights into how to harness the potential of our natural resources to fight infections and cancer. For example, we have identified a single gene that regulates the killer cell’s action and protects against viral infections and blood-born cancer. We are now trying to discover how NK cells attack a type of skin cancer known as melanoma. By learning more about how our natural defences work, we will be able to think of more effective cures against infection and cancer.