Memory NK cells to forget relapsed AML
Robin Parihar
Abstract
In this issue of Blood, Bednarski et al 1 describe the results of a clinical trial of memory-like natural killer (ML NK) cells for children and adolescents/young adults (AYA) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) relapsed after transplant. ML NK cells were generated from the hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) donor and thus were immune compatible, yet allogeneic, to the patient, setting up an incredibly unique clinical environment in which to evaluate various aspects of allogeneic NK cell therapy. Serial assessments of blood and bone marrow from each patient over an extended clinical course using mass cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing provide new insights into the biology of memory NK cells and their utility in AML therapy.