Leukemia-associated antigens (LAA) (LAA)

Leukemia-associated antigens (LAAs) are proteins that are either uniquely expressed or significantly overexpressed in leukemic cells compared to their healthy counterparts (Anguille et al., 2012, PMID: 22543771). In the context of autologous dendritic cell (DC) therapy, these antigens—such as Wilms tumor 1 (WT1), PRAME, and Proteinase 3—are loaded into a patient's own DCs to create a personalized cancer vaccine (Lichtenegger et al., 2019, PMID: 30631159). The DCs act as professional antigen-presenting cells, processing the LAAs and displaying them on MHC molecules to prime and activate the patient's T cells (Van de Corput et al., 2021, PMID: 33804614). Once activated, these T cells circulate throughout the body to identify and destroy leukemic blasts that express the corresponding antigens. This approach is particularly focused on eradicating minimal residual disease (MRD) and preventing relapse in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or other hematological malignancies (Smits et al., 2009, PMID: 19455150). While generally well-tolerated, the success of this therapy can be limited by the tumor's ability to downregulate antigen expression or create an immunosuppressive microenvironment (Rosenblatt et al., 2016, PMID: 27923928).

Other names

Tumor-associated antigens (TAA)Myeloid-associated antigensLeukemia-specific antigensLAA

Active immunotherapy involving the presentation of leukemia-specific peptides by dendritic cells to activate CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses against malignant cells.