donor natural killer cell infusion

This investigational cell therapy consists of donor-derived natural killer (NK) cells developed by Asan Medical Center in collaboration with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB). It is designed for the treatment of refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The therapy involves the infusion of allogeneic NK cells obtained from HLA-haploidentical donors following hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The manufacturing process includes collecting donor cells via leukapheresis, depleting CD3+ T cells to prevent graft-versus-host disease, and expanding the NK cell population ex vivo using interleukins-15 and -21. These expanded NK cells are then infused into the patient to target and eliminate residual leukemia cells through natural cytotoxic mechanisms, such as the release of perforin and granzymes and the activation of death receptor pathways. Clinical studies have evaluated the safety and efficacy of escalating doses of these cells administered at specific intervals post-transplantation.

Other names

allogeneic natural killer cellshaploidentical donor-derived NK cellsDNKIdonor natural killer cells