HLA-A*11:01-Restricted T Cell Receptors Targeting Mutant NPM1 for Adoptive Cell Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
- 1National Cancer Institute
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy associated with a poor prognosis and an unmet need for more effective treatment options, particularly after relapse. One potential approach to address this need, which has been used successfully in solid tumors, is adoptive transfer of T cells engineered to express specific T cell receptors (TCRs). Particularly attractive are TCRs that can target epitopes derived from oncogenes on which cancer cells depend while sparing normal cells that do not harbor the mutation. One promising oncogenic target in AML is mutated nucleophosmin 1 (mtNPM1), present in up to 30% of AML cases. Most NPM1 mutations result in a common frameshifted sequence that generates peptides presented by several class I human leukocyte antigens (HLAs), such as HLA-A*11:01. In this study, we vaccinated HLA-A*11:01-transgenic mice with the mtNPM1 peptide AVEEVSLRK and isolated six functional TCRs from mtNPM1-reactive lymphocytes. When engineered into human T cells, two of these TCRs consistently mediated robust and specific lysis of an AML cell line and primary AML cells co-expressing HLA-A*11:01 and mtNPM1. Neither TCR recognized related human peptides, HLA-A*11:01-expressing normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells or stem/progenitor cells, or cells expressing diverse allogeneic HLAs, suggesting a low risk of cross-reactivity and alloreactivity. In an AML xenograft model, both TCRs controlled AML in hematopoietic organs, although extramedullary tumors emerged during treatment, potentially reflecting the aggressive behavior of the model that may not be representative of AML in patients. Together, these data suggest that the two TCRs represent strong candidates for further preclinical development in adoptive T cell therapy for NPM1-mutated, HLA-A*11:01-positive AML. These results also support the use of HLA-transgenic mice as a platform for generating TCRs targeting oncogene-derived epitopes in hematologic malignancies.
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BibTeX
@misc{pursley2026hlaa1101restricted,
title = {{HLA-A*11:01-Restricted T Cell Receptors Targeting Mutant NPM1 for Adoptive Cell Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia}},
author = {A. J. Pursley and U. Kirmani and A. L. Chen and Z. Yu and K.-I. Hanada and C. M. Ade and C. D. Chien and N. Cha and W. A. Flegel and P. D. Aplan and M. Carroll and N. N. Taylor and J. C. Yang and S. Z. Pavletic and S.-Y. Pai and V. Leko},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.25.754423},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754423v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - HLA-A*11:01-Restricted T Cell Receptors Targeting Mutant NPM1 for Adoptive Cell Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
AU - A. J. Pursley
AU - U. Kirmani
AU - A. L. Chen
AU - Z. Yu
AU - K.-I. Hanada
AU - C. M. Ade
AU - C. D. Chien
AU - N. Cha
AU - W. A. Flegel
AU - P. D. Aplan
AU - M. Carroll
AU - N. N. Taylor
AU - J. C. Yang
AU - S. Z. Pavletic
AU - S.-Y. Pai
AU - V. Leko
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.25.754423
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754423v1
AB - Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy associated with a poor prognosis and an unmet need for more effective treatment options, particularly after relapse. One potential approach to address this need, which has been used successfully in solid tumors, is adoptive transfer of T cells engineered to express specific T cell receptors (TCRs). Particularly attractive are TCRs that can target epitopes derived from oncogenes on which cancer cells depend while sparing normal cells that do not harbor the mutation. One promising oncogenic target in AML is mutated nucleophosmin 1 (mtNPM1), present in up to 30% of AML cases. Most NPM1 mutations result in a common frameshifted sequence that generates peptides presented by several class I human leukocyte antigens (HLAs), such as HLA-A*11:01. In this study, we vaccinated HLA-A*11:01-transgenic mice with the mtNPM1 peptide AVEEVSLRK and isolated six functional TCRs from mtNPM1-reactive lymphocytes. When engineered into human T cells, two of these TCRs consistently mediated robust and specific lysis of an AML cell line and primary AML cells co-expressing HLA-A*11:01 and mtNPM1. Neither TCR recognized related human peptides, HLA-A*11:01-expressing normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells or stem/progenitor cells, or cells expressing diverse allogeneic HLAs, suggesting a low risk of cross-reactivity and alloreactivity. In an AML xenograft model, both TCRs controlled AML in hematopoietic organs, although extramedullary tumors emerged during treatment, potentially reflecting the aggressive behavior of the model that may not be representative of AML in patients. Together, these data suggest that the two TCRs represent strong candidates for further preclinical development in adoptive T cell therapy for NPM1-mutated, HLA-A*11:01-positive AML. These results also support the use of HLA-transgenic mice as a platform for generating TCRs targeting oncogene-derived epitopes in hematologic malignancies.
ER -