Immune Monitoring of CD34+ Placental Cell Derived Natural Killer Cell Therapy (PNK-007) in Phase I Study of Multiple Myeloma
Authors: Van Der Touw William , Kang Lin , Tario Joseph Dennis , Stout Bhavani , Voskinarian-Berse Vanessa , Rousseva Valentina , Wallace Paul K. , Hariri Robert , Zhang Xiaokui 
Published: November 2019

Background: Natural Killer (NK) cells are innate immune lymphocytes with cytotoxic function and are critical for immune surveillance. Unlike T cells which rely on antigen-specific responses, NK cells recognize transformed cells through a variety of NK cell-specific receptor-ligand interactions. Clinical studies have highlighted the therapeutic potential of NK cell-based therapies and Celularity has developed a GMP procedure for generating PNK-007: an off-the-shelf and allogeneic NK cell product culture-expanded and differentiated from human placental CD34+ stem cells. PNK-007 was evaluated as a single-dose allogeneic cell therapy in a phase I dose-escalation study for multiple myeloma (MM) patients receiving autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) (NCT02955550). 12 of 15 patients received subcutaneous IL-2 every 48 hours for 10 days following PNK-007 cell infusion while 3 patients in a separate cohort did not receive IL-2. Here, we report translational studies evaluating post-treatment immune reconstitution, minimal residual disease (MRD) detection at 10-5 threshold, and serum profiling of cytokines and chemokines.

Methods: Patient bone marrow aspirate was collected for EuroFlow MRD assessment and immune phenotyping by flow cytometry at baseline, 90-100 days, 6 months and 1 year post-ASCT. Peripheral blood was collected at baseline, then weekly for six weeks following PNK-007 infusion, at 6 months and at 1 year post-ASCT. PNK-007 persistence, leukocyte populations, and HLA antibody panels were determined by flow cytometry. Serum was analyzed by Luminex for panel cytokines, chemokines and soluble cytokine receptors. All patients and PNK-007 drug product were typed for HLA and killer-cell immunoglobulin-like (KIR) genotype.

Results: PNK-007 infusion did not interfere with immune reconstitution kinetics post-ASCT. Cohorts receiving PNK infusion 14 days post-ASCT had already recovered white blood cell counts to normal levels. One cohort receiving 3x107 PNK cells/kg 7 days post-ASCT showed an immune deficient environment (0.05x103 ± 0.004x103 leukocytes/ml, n=3), but recovered their white blood cell counts by day 21 (6.8x103 ± 1.8x103 leukocytes/ml, n=3). Using a validated Euro-flow MRD assay, 4/15 patients were MRD(-) at pre-ASCT baseline, and by day 90, 10/15 pts were MRD(-). PNK-007 persistence was not detected in patients by flow cytometry with the earliest timepoint tested being 7 days post-infusion. Panel HLA serum antibodies were not detected at any timepoint indicating the absence of alloantibodies. Withholding IL-2 administration in one cohort allowed us to evaluate its potential effects on NK cell recovery and immune reconstitution. We found that subcutaneous IL-2 q.o.d. for 10 days following PNK-007 infusion did not affect recovery kinetics and concentration of endogenous NK cells. However, these patients showed a 5-10 fold increase in serum soluble IL-2RA from baseline and elevated regulatory T cell (Treg) count in the blood versus baseline (167 ± 107 Treg/mL vs. 61 ± 33 Treg/mL, p=0.0075). Patients not receiving IL-2 saw no change in serum soluble IL-2RA or blood Treg level from baseline. CD4 and CD8 T cells from all patients retained their ability to become activated in response to ex vivo stimulation and favored release of IL-2 and IFNg. T cell effector function was maintained in all patients post-ASCT but was lost in a subset of patients at 1 year. Serum analysis showed low levels of free IL-15 at the time of PNK dosing despite the transient lymphodepleted state associated with ASCT. Cytokines associated with myeloid inflammation and T cell immunity in the month post dosing were within normal homeostatic level. Serum TGFβ was significantly lower at the day of PNK infusion compared to normal homeostatic levels.

Conclusion: Translational data from a Phase I study of PNK-007 in post-ASCT MM established that dosing up to 3x107 cells/kg at 14 or 7 days post-transplant did not impair engraftment or immune reconstitution. EuroFlow MRD assessment of the bone marrow showed conversion of 6/11 patients from MRD(+) to MRD(-) by day 90 post transplant. The administration of IL-2 in this clinical study did not appear to benefit NK cell reconstitution but instead favored soluble IL2RA antagonism and increased systemic levels of Treg. These results demonstrate the feasibility of allogeneic NK cell therapy in the MM + ASCT setting and will help inform the design of further clinical studies.

Disclosures

Van Der Touw: Celularity, Inc.: Employment, Patents & Royalties. Kang:Celularity, Inc.: Employment, Patents & Royalties. Stout:Celularity, Inc.: Employment. Voskinarian-Berse:Celularity, Inc.: Employment. Rousseva:Celularity, Inc.: Employment. Hariri:Celularity Inc: Employment. Zhang:Celularity Inc: Employment.