Image by Joshua Stokes
NK cell destroying a cancer cell
A newly identified pathway plays a “fundamental” role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to researchers.
The team discovered that AML cells have a secretory pathway that leads to the production and release of the immune receptor Tim-3 and its ligand galectin-9, both of which prevent natural killer (NK) and other cytotoxic cells from killing the AML cells.
Vadim Sumbayev, PhD, of the University of Kent in the UK, and his colleagues recounted these findings in EBioMedicine.
The researchers found that AML cells—but not healthy blood cells—express a receptor called latrophilin 1 (LPHN1). LPHN1 induces activation of PKCα, which triggers the translation and secretion of Tim-3 and galectin-9.
Soluble Tim-3 prevents the secretion of interleukin 2, which is required for the activation of NK cells and cytotoxic T cells. Galectin-9 impairs the AML-cell-killing ability of NK cells and other cytotoxic lymphocytes.
The researchers said their work revealed both biomarkers for AML diagnostics and potential targets for AML treatment.
“Targeting this pathway will crucially enhance patients’ own immune defenses, helping them to eliminate leukemia cells,” Dr Sumbayev said.
He added that his group’s discovery might be applied to the treatment of other cancers as well.
