HBC Research Seminar March 2022

Invited Speaker 

Dr. Kerry Campbell
Professor
Blood Cell Development and Function Program
Director, Cell Culture Facility
Co-Director, Immune Monitoring Facility
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Philadelphia, PA

Biography

Dr. Campbell holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia.  After completing postdoctoral work in 1992 at the Department of Pediatrics of the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in Denver, he worked for several years as an Independent Scientific Member at the Basel Institute for Immunology in Switzerland.  He joined the Fox Chase Cancer Center in 1998 and became a Full Professor in 2018.

Presentation Title

"The role of SLAMF7 receptor in natural killer cell responses to multiple myeloma"

Abstract

Natural killer (NK) cells can play an important role in the immune response toward multiple myeloma, especially early in the disease course. SLAMF7 is a co-stimulatory receptor expressed on the surface of natural killer (NK) cells and is also highly expressed on myeloma cells.  Since SLAMF7 is a self-ligand, SLAMF7-SLAMF7 interactions between NK cells and myeloma target cells can co-stimulate anti-tumor responses by NK cells.  Our lab has studied the mechanism of action of a therapeutic SLAMF7 antibody, elotuzumab.  We found that elotuzumab can stimulate NK cell-mediated attack of myeloma cells through 1) inducing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), 2) directly co-stimulating NK cells upon binding SLAMF7, and 3) promoting SLAMF7-SLAMF7 homotypic interactions.  In addition, we found that SLAMF7 expression levels on NK cells in peripheral blood and bone marrow of multiple myeloma patients can predict progression-free survival.