Varvara Maiorova

Varvara Maiorova


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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25 October 2021 in Vaccines
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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VMVarvara Maiorova
Varvara Maiorova
MMMurad Mollaev
Murad Mollaev
PVPolina Vikhreva
Polina Vikhreva
EKElena Kulakovskaya
Elena Kulakovskaya
DPDmitry Pershin
Dmitry Pershin
SLSergey Larin
Sergey Larin
Relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cannot be cured with chemotherapy alone, as the blasts survive the treatment. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) approaches for AML are being actively developed. CARs promote immune reactions through recognition of the target molecular epitopes at the surface of cancer cells. The recognition involves the extracellular portion of the CAR protein, which corresponds to either the antibody or the physiological binding partner of the targeted antigen. Here, we design a chimeric receptor with a full-length natural Flt3-ligand recognition module that targets Flt3 tyrosine kinase, known as an adverse marker in AML. We demonstrate specific killing of Flt3-positive THP-1 cells by Flt3-CAR T cells and the lack of cytotoxicity towards Flt3-negative U937 cells. We prove that the inherent cytolytic capacity of T cells is essential for the killing. Finally, we confirm the authenticity of targeting by its competitive dose-dependent inhibition with a soluble Flt3-ligand. The developed system can be viewed as a non-immunogenic functional equivalent of scFv-mediated targeting. The robust in vitro antitumor effects of Flt3-CAR T cells, combined with their low off-target cytotoxicity, hold promise for AML treatment.