Natural Killer Immunotherapy for Minimal Residual Disease Eradication Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

• Main Authors: Norimichi Hattori, Tsuyoshi Nakamaki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: natural killer cell; immunotherapy; allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; acute myeloid leukemia; immune checkpoint; bispecific and trispecific killer cell engagers; chimeric antigen receptors
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/9/2057

The most common cause of death in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is AML relapse. Therefore, additive therapies post allo-HSCT have significant potential to prevent relapse. Natural killer (NK)-cell-based immunotherapies can be incorporated into the therapeutic armamentarium for the eradication of AML cells post allo-HSCT. In recent studies, NK cell-based immunotherapies, the use of adoptive NK cells, NK cells in combination with cytokines, immune checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific and trispecific killer cell engagers, and chimeric antigen receptor-engineered NK cells have all shown antitumor activity in AML patients. In this review, we will discuss the current strategies with these NK cell-based immunotherapies as possible therapies to cure AML patients post allo-HSCT. Additionally, we will discuss various means of immune escape in order to further understand the mechanism of NK cell-based immunotherapies against AML.