Depletion of an immature cord blood NK subset reverses trogocytosis-driven CAR NK dysfunction

A previously unrecognized immature NK cell subset in cord blood was found to limit CAR-NK therapy efficacy by diverting tumor targeting and promoting fratricide through trogocytosis. Li et al. demonstrated that donor cell composition directly shapes antitumor activity and that depleting this subset during manufacturing improves consistency, persistence, and potency of off-the-shelf CAR-NK products. The findings offer a practical quality-control strategy for clinical-grade CAR-NK production.