title: The role of the immunosuppressive microenvironment in acute myeloid leukemia development and treatment.
abstract: Functional interplay between acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and the bone marrow microenvironment is a distinctive characteristic of this hematological cancer. Indeed, a large body of evidence suggests that proliferation, survival and drug resistance of AML are sustained and modulated by the bone marrow immunosuppressive microenvironment, where both innate and adaptive immune responses are profoundly deregulated. Furthermore, the presence of a number of different immunosuppressive mechanisms results in massive immune deregulation, which causes the eventual escape from natural immune control. Modulating the immune system, as documented by 40 years of stem cell transplantation, may improve survival of AML patients, as the immune system is clearly able to recognize and attack leukemic cells. The understanding of the factors responsible for the escape from immune destruction in AML, which becomes more prominent with disease progression, is necessary for the development of innovative immunotherapeutic treatment modalities in AML.
authors.affiliation: Haematology and Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Center, AORMN Hospital, Via Lombroso, 1, 61122, Pesaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isidori
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Salvestrini
authors.forename: Marilena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciciarello
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Loscocco
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Visani
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.forename: Mariangela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lecciso
authors.forename: Darina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ocadlikova
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gabucci
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clissa
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Curti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007109:Immunity; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
keywords: acute myeloid leukemia; immunotherapy; microenvironment; tolerogenic; tumor immunity