title: Nutritional immunology: function of natural killer cells and their modulation by resveratrol for cancer prevention and treatment.
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells as part of the innate immune system represent the first line of defence against (virus-) infected and malignantly transformed cells. The emerging field of nutritional immunology focuses on compounds featuring immune-modulating activities in particular on NK cells, which e.g. can be exploited for cancer prevention and treatment. The plant-based nutrition resveratrol is a ternary hydroxylated stilbene, which is present in many foods and beverages, respectively. In humans it comprises a large variety of distinct biological activities. Interestingly, resveratrol strongly modulates the immune response including the activity of NK cells. This review will give an overview on NK cell functions and summarize the resveratrol-mediated modulation thereof.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Hospital, Otfried-Mueller-Str. 27, Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leischner
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Hospital, Otfried-Mueller-Str. 27, Tuebingen, Germany.|Division of Dermatologic Oncology, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burkard
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital, Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Hospital, Otfried-Mueller-Str. 27, Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Lauer
authors.affiliation: Division of Dermatologic Oncology, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.|Pallas Clinic, Olten, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Hospital, Otfried-Mueller-Str. 27, Tuebingen, Germany. sascha.venturelli@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Venturelli
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000276:immunology*; D010945:Plants, Edible / Q000737:chemistry; D000077185:Resveratrol; D013267:Stilbenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D013267:Stilbenes; D000077185:Resveratrol
keywords: Immune modulation; Innate immune system; NK cell activity; Nutritional immunology; Resveratrol