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Vittayawacharin P, Kongtim P, Ciurea SO. Future directions in haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Hematology 2024; 29:2366718. [PMID: 38889342 DOI: 10.1080/16078454.2024.2366718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Outcomes of haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-SCT) have improved over time. Graft failure and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which were important complications in major human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-disparity stem cell transplantation, have significantly decreased. These improvements have led to an exponential increase in the use of haploidentical donors for transplantation, as well as in the number of publications evaluating haplo-SCT outcomes. Many studies focused on factors important in donor selection, novel conditioning regimens or GVHD prophylaxis, the impact of donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSA), as well as strategies to prevent disease relapse post-transplant. DSA represents an important limitation and multimodality desensitization protocols, including plasma exchange, rituximab, intravenous immunoglobulin and donor buffy coat infusion, can contribute to the successful engraftment in patients with high DSA levels and is currently the standard therapy for highly allosensitized individuals. With regards to donor selection, younger donors are preferred due to lower risk of complications and better transplant outcomes. Moreover, recent studies also showed that younger haploidentical donors may be a better choice than older-matched unrelated donors. Improvement of disease relapse remains a top priority, and several studies have demonstrated that higher natural killer (NK) cell numbers early post-transplant are associated with improved outcomes. Prospective studies have started to assess the role of NK cell administration in decreasing post-transplant relapse. These studies suggest that the incorporation of other cell products post-transplant, including the administration of chimeric antigen receptor T-cells, should be explored in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pongthep Vittayawacharin
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
- Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand
| | - Piyanuch Kongtim
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stefan O Ciurea
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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Nakamae H. Graft-versus-tumor effect of post-transplant cyclophosphamide-based allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1403936. [PMID: 38903503 PMCID: PMC11187280 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1403936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) is becoming the standard prophylaxis for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in HLA-haploidentical allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) and in HLA-matched allo-HCT. Immune reconstitution in the post-transplant setting may influence the graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect because PTCy has a profound effect on T cell and natural killer cell functions and their reconstitution after allo-HCT. However, many recent studies have shown that the incidence of relapse after allo-HCT with PTCy is comparable to that after conventional allo-HCT. To further improve the outcomes, it is critical to establish a strategy to maintain or effectively induce the GVT effect when using PTCy as a platform for GVHD prophylaxis. However, there is a paucity of studies focusing on the GVT effect in allo-HCT with PTCy. Therefore, focusing on this issue may lead to the establishment of more appropriate strategies to improve transplantation outcomes without exacerbating GVHD, including novel therapies involving cell modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirohisa Nakamae
- Department of Hematology, Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan
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Ciurea SO, Kongtim P, Srour S, Chen J, Soebbing D, Shpall E, Rezvani K, Nakkula R, Thakkar A, Troy EC, Cash AA, Behbehani G, Cao K, Schafer J, Champlin RE, Lee DA. Results of a phase I trial with Haploidentical mbIL-21 ex vivo expanded NK cells for patients with multiply relapsed and refractory AML. Am J Hematol 2024; 99:890-899. [PMID: 38444268 DOI: 10.1002/ajh.27281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Natural killer (NK)-cells have potent anti-tumor effects, yet it remains unclear if they are effective for patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In a phase I clinical trial, we treated 12 patients (median age 60 years) with refractory AML (median 5 lines of prior therapy, median bone marrow blast count of 47%) with fludarabine/cytarabine followed by 6 infusions of NK-cells expanded from haploidentical donors using K562 feeder cells expressing membrane-bound IL21 and 4-1BBL. Patients received 106-107/kg/dose. No toxicity or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was observed and MTD was not reached. Seven patients (58.3%) responded and achieved a complete remission (CR) with/without count recovery. Median time to best response was 48 days. Five responding patients proceeded to a haploidentical transplant from the same donor. After a median follow-up of 52 months, 1-year overall survival (OS) for the entire group was 41.7%, better for patients who responded with CR/CRi (57.14%), and for patients who responded and underwent transplantation (60%). Persistence and expansion of donor-derived NK-cells were identified in patients' blood, and serum IFNγ levels rose concurrently with NK cell infusions. A higher count-functional inhibitory KIR was associated with higher likelihood of achieving CR/CRi. In conclusion, we observed a significant response to ex vivo expanded NK-cell administration in refractory AML patients without adverse effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan O Ciurea
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, Division of Hematology/Oncology, The University of California, Orange, California, USA
| | - Piyanuch Kongtim
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, Division of Hematology/Oncology, The University of California, Orange, California, USA
| | - Samer Srour
- Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Julianne Chen
- Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Doris Soebbing
- Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Elizabeth Shpall
- Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Katayoun Rezvani
- Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Robin Nakkula
- The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Aarohi Thakkar
- The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Ella C Troy
- The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Alex A Cash
- The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | | | - Kai Cao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | | | - Richard E Champlin
- Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Dean A Lee
- The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA
- Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Di Vito C, Coianiz N, Calvi M, Terzoli S, Zaghi E, Puccio S, Frigo A, Mariotti J, De Philippis C, Mannina D, Sarina B, Mineri R, Le-Trilling VTK, Trilling M, Castagna L, Bramanti S, Santoro A, Mavilio D. Persistence of KIR neg NK cells after haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation protects from human cytomegalovirus infection/reactivation. Front Immunol 2024; 14:1266051. [PMID: 38268918 PMCID: PMC10806243 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1266051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (h-HSCT) is a therapeutic option to cure patients affected by hematologic malignancies. The kinetics and the quality of immune-reconstitution (IR) impact the clinical outcome of h-HSCT and limit the onset of life-threatening Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection/reactivation. Natural Killer (NK) cells are the first lymphocytes that recover after h-HSCT and they can provide rapid innate immune responses against opportunistic pathogens. By performing a longitudinal single-cell analysis of multiparametric flow-cytometry data, we show here that the persistence at high frequencies of CD158b1b2jneg/NKG2Apos/NKG2Cneg/NKp30pos/NKp46pos (KIRneg) NK cells is associated with HCMV infection/reactivation control. These KIRneg NK cells are "unlicensed", and are not terminal-differentiated lymphocytes appearing early during IR and mainly belonging to CD56bright/CD16neg and CD56bright/CD16pos subsets. KIRneg NK cells are enriched in oxidative and glucose metabolism pathways, produce interferon-γ, and are endowed with potent antiviral activity against HCMV ex vivo. Decreased frequencies of KIRneg NK cells early during IR are associated with clinically relevant HCMV replication. Taken together, our findings indicate that the prolonged persistence of KIRneg NK cells after h-HSCT could serve as a biomarker to better predict HCMV infection/reactivation. This phenomenon also paves the way to optimize anti-viral immune responses by enriching post-transplant donor lymphocyte infusions with KIRneg NK cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Di Vito
- Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicolò Coianiz
- Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Michela Calvi
- Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies and Translational Medicine (BioMeTra), University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Terzoli
- Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy
| | - Elisa Zaghi
- Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Simone Puccio
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandro Frigo
- Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies and Translational Medicine (BioMeTra), University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Jacopo Mariotti
- Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara De Philippis
- Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniele Mannina
- Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Barbara Sarina
- Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Rossana Mineri
- Molecular Biology Section, Clinical Investigation Laboratory, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Mirko Trilling
- Institute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Luca Castagna
- Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefania Bramanti
- Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Armando Santoro
- Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Domenico Mavilio
- Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies and Translational Medicine (BioMeTra), University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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Byrnes CP, Hastings A, Lacej I, Palanicawandar R, Olavarria E, Anand A. A retrospective analysis to evaluate if KIR B haplotype donors associate with a reduced risk of relapse in patients with haematological malignancies following haploidentical transplantation at the Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Hammersmith Hospital ICHNHST. HLA 2024; 103:e15214. [PMID: 37712429 DOI: 10.1111/tan.15214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Relapse is a major cause of treatment failure in haploidentical haematopoietic progenitor cell transplant (HPCT) with PTCy. Natural killer cells suppress graft versus host disease and mediate the graft versus leukaemia effect, driven by killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). Emerging research suggests that donor KIR genotype may influence graft outcome in haploidentical transplants with varying impacts between patient cohorts. This study investigates whether donors with greater KIR B motifs associate with outcomes such as greater relapse-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), nonrelapse mortality (NRM), acute graft versus host disease (GvHD) and infection. The study cohort included 98 haploidentical donor-recipient (D/R) pairs (myeloablative n = 37, RIC n = 61) with various haematological malignancies, receiving primary T-cell replete haploidentical HSCT with PTCγ. Following KIR SSO genotyping, donors are categorised into neutral (n = 63) or better and best (n = 35), based on KIR B motif content. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression survival functions are performed to investigate associations with outcomes. Our results show that the better and best category has significantly poorer RFS (p = 0.013; hazard ratio [HR] 3.16, 95% CI 1.21-8.24: p = 0.018). The greater risk of relapse associated with poorer OS (p = 0.011; HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.18-4.24: p = 0.01) in the better and best category. The competing KIR receptor-ligand and missing licensing proof models failed to predict transplant outcomes. Here, we show neutral donors associate with favourable outcomes in T-cell replete haplo-HPCT with PTCγ after categorisation using the KIR B content model, due to the increased risk of relapse associated with the use of better and best donors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Paul Byrnes
- Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics laboratory, Infection & Immunity sciences, North West London Pathology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
- School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | | | - Ira Lacej
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | | | - Eduardo Olavarria
- Department of Haematology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Arthi Anand
- Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics laboratory, Infection & Immunity sciences, North West London Pathology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
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Teshima T, Hashimoto D. Separation of GVL from GVHD -location, location, location. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1296663. [PMID: 38116007 PMCID: PMC10728488 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1296663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a curative therapy for various hematologic malignancies. However, alloimmune response is a double-edged sword that mediates both beneficial graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effects and harmful graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Separation of GVL effects from GVHD has been a topic of intense research to improve transplant outcomes, but reliable clinical strategies have not yet been established. Target tissues of acute GVHD are the skin, liver, and intestine, while leukemic stem cells reside in the bone marrow. Tissue specific effector T-cell migration is determined by a combination of inflammatory and chemotactic signals that interact with specific receptors on T cells. Specific inhibition of donor T cell migration to GVHD target tissues while preserving migration to the bone marrow may represent a novel strategy to separate GVL from GVHD. Furthermore, tissue specific GVHD therapy, promoting tissue tolerance, and targeting of the tumor immune microenvironment may also help to separate GVHD and GVL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takanori Teshima
- Department of Hematology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
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