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Effect of cA2 Anti–Tumor Necrosis Factor- Antibody Therapy on Hematopoiesis of Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Department of Hematology, University of Crete School of Medicine, Heraklion, Crete, and ² Department of Pathophysiology, Medical School, National University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Requests for reprints: Helen A. Papadaki, Department of Hematology, University Hospital of Heraklion, P.O. Box 1352, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Phone: 30-2810-394-629; Fax: 30-2810-394-632; E-mail: epapadak{at}med.uoc.gr.

Purpose: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-) plays a prominent role in the pathophysiology of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The aim of this study was to explore the biological and immunoregulatory effect of the treatment with the anti–tumor necrosis factor- monoclonal antibody cA2 on bone marrow (BM) progenitor/precursor and stromal cells and lymphocyte subsets, as well as the clinical response in MDS patients.

Experimental Design: Ten low-intermediate risk MDS patients received i.v. cA2 (3 mg/kg) at weeks 0, 2, 6, and 12. The number, survival, and clonogenic potential of BM progenitor/precursor cells, the hematopoiesis-supporting capacity of BM stromal cells, and the lymphocyte activation status were investigated in the patients at baseline and following treatment using flow cytometry, clonogenic assays, and long-term BM cultures (LTBMC). Clinical response was evaluated according to standardized criteria.

Results: cA2 administration reduced the proportion of apoptotic and Fas⁺ cells in the CD34⁺ cell compartment (P = 0.0215 and P = 0.0344, respectively) and increased the clonogenic potential of BM mononuclear and CD34⁺ cells (P = 0.0399 and P = 0.0304, respectively) compared with baseline. The antibody reduced tumor necrosis factor- levels in LTBMC supernatants (P = 0.0043) and significantly improved the hematopoiesis-supporting capacity of LTBMC adherent cells. The proportion of activated peripheral blood and BM T-lymphocytes decreased significantly after treatment, suggesting an immunomodulatory effect of cA2. Two patients displayed minor hematologic responses whereas the remaining patients displayed stable disease with no disease progression.

Conclusions: The encouraging biological insights from cA2 administration may be useful in conducting further clinical trials using cA2 for selected MDS patients, particularly those with evidence of immune-mediated inhibition of hematopoiesis.