Pharmacogenetic analysis in the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma

A Novel Gene Underlies Bleomycin-Response Variation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Bleomycin is a powerful chemotherapeutic drug used to treat a variety of cancers. However, individual patients vary in their responses to bleomycin. The identification of genetic differences that underlie this response variation could improve treatment outcomes by tailoring bleomycin dosages to each patient. We used the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to identify genetic determinants of bleomycin-response differences by performing linkage mapping on recombinants derived from a cross between the laboratory strain (N2) and a wild strain (CB4856). This approach identified a small genomic region on chromosome V that underlies bleomycin-response variation. Using near-isogenic lines, and strains with CRISPR-Cas9 mediated deletions and allele replacements, we discovered that a novel nematode-specific gene (scb-1) is required for bleomycin resistance. Although the mechanism by which this gene causes variation in bleomycin responses is unknown, we suggest that a rare variant present in the CB4856 strain might cause differences in the potential stress-response function of scb-1 between the N2 and CB4856 strains, thereby leading to differences in bleomycin resistance.

Establishment of a Therapeutic Anti-Pan HLA-Class II Monoclonal Antibody That Directly Induces Lymphoma Cell Death via Large Pore Formation

To develop a new therapeutic monoclonal Antibody (mAb) for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), we immunized a BALB/c mouse with live HL cell lines, alternating between two HL cell lines. After hybridization, we screened the hybridoma clones by assessing direct cytotoxicity against a HL cell line not used for immunization. We developed this strategy for establishing mAb to reduce the risk of obtaining clonotypic mAb specific for single HL cell line. A newly established mouse anti-human mAb (4713) triggered cytoskeleton-dependent, but complement- and caspase-independent, cell death in HL cell lines, Burkitt lymphoma cell lines, and advanced adult T-cell leukemia cell lines. Intravenous injection of mAb 4713 in tumor-bearing SCID mice improved survival significantly. mAb 4713 was revealed to be a mouse anti-human pan-HLA class II mAb. Treatment with this mAb induced the formation of large pores on the surface of target lymphoma cells within 30 min. This finding suggests that the cell death process induced by this anti-pan HLA-class II mAb may involve the same death signals stimulated by a cytolytic anti-pan MHC class I mAb that also induces large pore formation. This multifaceted study supports the therapeutic potential of mAb 4713 for various forms of lymphoma.