NK cell-dependent growth inhibition of lewis lung cancer by yu-ping-feng, an ancient Chinese herbal formula

Abstract

Little is known about Yu-Ping-Feng (YPF), a typical Chinese herbal decoction, for its antitumor efficacy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we found that YPF significantly inhibited the growth of Lewis lung cancer, prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice, promoted NK cell tumor infiltration, increased the population of NK cells in spleen, and enhanced NK cell-mediated killing activity. The growth suppression of tumors by YPF was significantly reversed by the depletion of NK cells. Furthermore, we found that YPF significantly downregulated the expression of TGF-β, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, and IL-10 in tumor microenvironment. These results demonstrated that YPF has a NK cell-dependent inhibitory effect on Lewis lung cancer.