Killer targets in metastasis

An international team has found a new pathway in NK cells that leads to the rejection of metastatic tumors.¹ It is still unclear which components of the pathway will make the best targets.

The pathway centers around an E3 ubiquitin ligase called casitas B cell lymphoma-b (CBL-B) that is known to negatively regulate T cells.² In 2007, a group led by Josef Penninger showed that Cbl-b knockout resulted in CD8⁺ T cell-mediated tumor rejection in several mouse models.³...