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Blood Res 2020; 55(1):

Published online March 31, 2020

https://doi.org/10.5045/br.2020.55.1.10

© The Korean Society of Hematology

A general view of CD33+ leukemic stem cells and CAR-T cells as interesting targets in acute myeloblatsic leukemia therapy

Ezzatollah Fathi1, Raheleh Farahzadi2, Roghayeh Sheervalilou3, Zohreh Sanaat2, Ilja Vietor4

1Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, 2Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 3Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran, 4Division of Cell Biology, Biocenter, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

Correspondence to : Raheleh Farahzadi, Ph.D.
Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz 5166614731, Iran
E-mail: farahzadir@tbzmed.ac.ir

Received: February 12, 2020; Revised: February 27, 2020; Accepted: March 18, 2020

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) is the most frequent acute leukemia in adulthood with very poor overall survival rates. In the past few decades, significant progresses had led to the findings of new therapeutic approaches and the better understanding of the molecular complexity of this hematologic malignancy. Leukemic stem cells (LSCs) play a key role in the initiation, progression, regression, and drug resistance of different types of leukemia. The cellular and molecular characteristics of LSCs and their mechanism in the development of leukemia had not yet been specified. Therefore, determining their cellular and molecular characteristics and creating new approaches for targeted therapy of LSCs is crucial for the future of leukemia research. For this reason, the recognition of surface maker targets on the cell surface of LSCs has attracted much attention. CD33 has been detected on blasts in most AML patients, making them an interesting target for AML therapy. Genetic engineering of T cells with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T cell therapy) is a novel therapeutic strategy. It extends the range of antigens available for use in adoptive T-cell immunotherapy. This review will focus on CAR-T cell approaches as well as monoclonal antibody (mAB)-based therapy, the two antibody-based therapies utilized in AML treatment.

Keywords Acute myeloblastic leukemia, Cancer stem cells, CD33+ leukemic stem cells, mAB-based therapy, CAR-T cell, CAR-T cell immunotherapy

Article

Review Article

Blood Res 2020; 55(1): 10-16

Published online March 31, 2020 https://doi.org/10.5045/br.2020.55.1.10

Copyright © The Korean Society of Hematology.

A general view of CD33+ leukemic stem cells and CAR-T cells as interesting targets in acute myeloblatsic leukemia therapy

Ezzatollah Fathi1, Raheleh Farahzadi2, Roghayeh Sheervalilou3, Zohreh Sanaat2, Ilja Vietor4

1Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, 2Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 3Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran, 4Division of Cell Biology, Biocenter, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

Correspondence to:Raheleh Farahzadi, Ph.D.
Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz 5166614731, Iran
E-mail: farahzadir@tbzmed.ac.ir

Received: February 12, 2020; Revised: February 27, 2020; Accepted: March 18, 2020

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) is the most frequent acute leukemia in adulthood with very poor overall survival rates. In the past few decades, significant progresses had led to the findings of new therapeutic approaches and the better understanding of the molecular complexity of this hematologic malignancy. Leukemic stem cells (LSCs) play a key role in the initiation, progression, regression, and drug resistance of different types of leukemia. The cellular and molecular characteristics of LSCs and their mechanism in the development of leukemia had not yet been specified. Therefore, determining their cellular and molecular characteristics and creating new approaches for targeted therapy of LSCs is crucial for the future of leukemia research. For this reason, the recognition of surface maker targets on the cell surface of LSCs has attracted much attention. CD33 has been detected on blasts in most AML patients, making them an interesting target for AML therapy. Genetic engineering of T cells with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T cell therapy) is a novel therapeutic strategy. It extends the range of antigens available for use in adoptive T-cell immunotherapy. This review will focus on CAR-T cell approaches as well as monoclonal antibody (mAB)-based therapy, the two antibody-based therapies utilized in AML treatment.

Keywords: Acute myeloblastic leukemia, Cancer stem cells, CD33+ leukemic stem cells, mAB-based therapy, CAR-T cell, CAR-T cell immunotherapy

Fig 1.

Figure 1.Suggested models of AML transformation. Three suggested scenarios of step by step transformation in human AML, leading from a normal cell (orange) to a premalignant cell (pink) and, finally, to a malignant cell (brown) with clonal expansion: Scenario 1; both the initial transforming incident and following mutations leading to clonal expansion occur at the level of multipotent precursors; Scenario 2; the initial transforming incident occurs at the level of multipotent precursors, whiles the cooperating mutational event leading to clonal expansion occurs at the level of committed myeloid progenitors; and Scenario 3; both initial and following mutations occur at the level of committed myeloid precursors [2].
Blood Research 2020; 55: 10-16https://doi.org/10.5045/br.2020.55.1.10

Fig 2.

Figure 2.(A) Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). CARs include of an extracellular domain created by attaching the light and heavy chain variable regions of a monoclonal antibody with a linker to form a single-chain Fv (scFv) molecule. The scFv is attached via a hinge region to the transmembrane and intracellular receptor portion. The three generation of CARs has been shown. (B) Innovative CAR design. Suicide gene strategies are investigated as control mechanisms for better toxicity management of CAR T cells. The inducible caspase 9 (iCasp9) is one of the example in this field. The details are explained in Hoffman et al. (2019). In brief, when the small molecule is administered, iCasp9 domains activate apoptosis independently of CAR activation. Bispecific CARs bear two linked scFV within one CAR construct, whereas dual CARs express two different antigen-specific CARs. TCR-mimic (TCRm) CARs directing the scFv domain against a peptide- human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex have been developed for addressing the HLA [5].
Blood Research 2020; 55: 10-16https://doi.org/10.5045/br.2020.55.1.10

Fig 3.

Figure 3.CAR T-cell therapy for AML.
Blood Research 2020; 55: 10-16https://doi.org/10.5045/br.2020.55.1.10
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