Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell neoplasm that commonly expresses CD38. Daratumumab (DARA), a human monoclonal antibody targeting CD38, has significantly improved the outcome of patients with relapsed or refractory MM, but the response is transient in most cases. Putative mechanisms of suboptimal efficacy of DARA include downregulation of CD38 expression and overexpression of complement inhibitory proteins on MM target cells as well as DARA-induced depletion of CD38high natural killer (NK) cells resulting in crippled antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Here, we tested whether maintaining NK cell function during DARA therapy could maximize DARA-mediated ADCC against MM cells and deepen the response. We used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to delete CD38 (CD38KO) in ex vivo expanded peripheral blood NK cells. These CD38KO NK cells were completely resistant to DARA-induced fratricide, showed superior persistence in immune-deficient mice pretreated with DARA, and enhanced ADCC activity against CD38-expressing MM cell lines and primary MM cells. In addition, transcriptomic and cellular metabolic analysis demonstrated that CD38KO NK cells have unique metabolic reprogramming with higher mitochondrial respiratory capacity. Finally, we evaluated the impact of exposure to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on wild-type NK and CD38KO NK cell function and highlighted potential benefits and drawbacks of combining ATRA with DARA in patients with MM. Taken together, these findings provide proof of concept that adoptive immunotherapy using ex vivo expanded CD38KO NK cells has the potential to boost DARA activity in MM.

Since the introduction of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has become a highly curable malignancy, especially in combination with arsenic trioxide (ATO). ATRA’s success has deepened our understanding of the role of the RARα pathway in normal hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis, and it has influenced a generation of cancer drug development. Retinoids have also demonstrated some efficacy in a handful of other disease entities, including as a maintenance therapy for neuroblastoma and in the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas; nevertheless, the promise of retinoids as a differentiating therapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) more broadly, and as a cancer preventative, have largely gone unfulfilled. Recent research into the mechanisms of ATRA resistance and the biomarkers of RARα pathway dysregulation in AML have reinvigorated efforts to successfully deploy retinoid therapy in a broader subset of myeloid malignancies. Recent studies have demonstrated that the bone marrow environment is highly protected from exogenous ATRA via local homeostasis controlled by stromal cells expressing CYP26, a key enzyme responsible for ATRA inactivation. Synthetic CYP26-resistant retinoids such as tamibarotene bypass this stromal protection and have shown superior anti-leukemic effects. Furthermore, recent super-enhancer (SE) analysis has identified a novel AML subgroup characterized by high expression of RARα through strong SE levels in the gene locus and increased sensitivity to tamibarotene. Combined with a hypomethylating agent, synthetic retinoids have shown synergistic anti-leukemic effects in non-APL AML preclinical models and are now being studied in phase II and III clinical trials.

Key Clinical Message: We herein report a rare case of acute basophilic leukemia with t(16;21)(p11;q22) generating the FUS ‐ ERG fusion gene. The basophilic nature of leukemia blasts was demonstrated by cytomorphology, toluidine blue metachromasia, mature basophil‐associated antigen expression, and characteristic granules under electron microscopy. The molecular link between t(16;21)/ FUS ‐ ERG and basophilic differentiation remains unclear.

Here we report on a case of Philadelphia chromosome positive B lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL), which developed following a long duration of essential thrombocythemia (ET). A mutational analysis of Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2) revealed that the V617F mutation was present in granulocytes and in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), but not in the CD34+CD19+ population that mostly consists of Ph+ALL cells, indicating that this Ph+ALL clone did not originate from the ET clone carrying the JAK2-V617F mutation. The minor BCR-ABL1 fusion was detected not only in the CD34+CD19+ population but also in HSPCs and granulocytes, indicating that the Philadelphia chromosome was acquired in an early hematopoietic stage at least prior to the commitment to B cell development. Upon dasatinib treatment, the minor BCR-ABL1 transcript rapidly disappeared in HSPCs but persisted in the CD34+CD19+ population. A relapse of Ph+ALL occurred nine months later without the disappearance of the minor BCR-ABL1 transcript in the bone marrow cells during the treatment course, suggesting that a resistant Ph+ALL clone may have arisen or been selected in the committed B cells rather than in HSPCs. This case report may partly contribute to filling the gap between previous data acquired from mice experiments and the phenomenon in real patients.

A woman in her fifties was diagnosed with hypoplastic acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Soon after induction treatment, she developed pulmonary infiltrates in the lower lobe of the right lung, which shortly evolved into disseminated disease involving the left thorax, spleen, and liver. Although she had this life-threatening complication, complete hematological response was achieved after salvage and consolidation treatments. Positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography demonstrated formation of multiple abscesses, and biopsy of the liver revealed fungal hyphae, the morphology of which suggested mucormycetes; however, culture yielded no growth. As involved lesions remained unchanged or even deteriorated after >4 months of liposomal amphotericin B treatment, and because the underlying AML was in remission with normal hematopoietic recovery, the patient underwent carefully organized two-stage surgery to debride infected organs and tissues. The surgical specimens were composed of necrotic debris, but some areas contained hyphae with similar morphological features as those of the liver biopsy. The causative fungal pathogens were identified as Rhizomucor pusillus by a polymerase chain reaction-based molecular method. Currently, she regularly visits the out-patient clinic and is free from leukemia. This report suggests that extensive surgical debridement should be considered for disseminated mucormycosis when clinically possible.