Rimando JC, Chendamarai E, Rettig MP, et al. Flotetuzumab and Other T-Cell Immunotherapies Upregulate MHC Class II Expression on Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells. Blood. 2022; (doi: 10.1182/blood.2022017795).

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation comes with the potential for relapse in recipients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but researchers believe T-cell immunotherapies targeting AML antigens may reduce this risk. Whereas downregulation of major histocompatibility class II (MHC-II) surface expression on AML blasts has a suspected role in relapse, the immunotherapy flotetuzumab has been shown to upregulate MHC-II expression on AML cells. This action is mediated by localized release of interferon gamma. Based on results from a patient-derived xenograft model and from a clinical trial involving participants with relapsed/refractory AML, the resulting upregulation of MHC-II expression enables T-cell immunotherapies to kill AML through both MHC-independent or MHC-dependent mechanisms.

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Tags: AML, transplantation, immunotherapy, antigen, T cells, T cell, acute myeloid leukemia