Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by the accumulation of immature myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the peripheral blood. Nearly half of the AML patients relapse after standard induction therapy, and new forms of therapy are urgently needed. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy has so far not been successful in AML due to lack of efficacy and safety. Indeed, the most attractive antigen targets are stem cell markers such as CD33 or CD123. We demonstrate that CD37, a mature B cell marker, is expressed in AML samples, and its presence correlates with the European LeukemiaNet (ELN) 2017 risk stratification. We repurpose the anti-lymphoma CD37CAR for the treatment of AML and show that CD37CAR T cells specifically kill AML cells, secrete proinflammatory cytokines, and control cancer progression in vivo. Importantly, CD37CAR T cells display no toxicity toward hematopoietic stem cells. Thus, CD37 is a promising and safe CAR T cell AML target.
Institute(s)Institute of AI for Health (AIH) Unit for Clinical Pharmacology (KKG-EKLiP)
GrantsFritz Bender Foundation Research Council of Norway Norwegian Health Authority South-East Norwegian Cancer Society Research Council of Norway (NFR) University of Bergen PhD fellowship Marie Sklodowska-Curie Program Training Network for Optimizing Adoptive T Cell Therapy of Cancer - H2020 Program of the European Union Hector Foundation Deutsche Forschungsge-meinschaft (DFG) European Research Council Wilhelm Sander-Stiftung Bayerische Forschungsstiftung m4 award of the Bavarian Ministry for Economical Affairs Go-Bio Initiative Ernst-Jung-Stiftung German Cancer Aid Else Kroner-Fresenius-Stiftung International Doctoral Program i-Target, Immunotargeting of Cancer - Elite Network of Bavaria Childhood Cancer Society