Publications by authors named "Dima Yackoubov"

Article Synopsis
  • NK cells play a crucial role in cancer immune defense by providing a fast response to tumors, allowing for direct attacks on cancer cells without needing prior antigen recognition.
  • * Gamida Cell's NAM platform aims to boost the effectiveness of NK cells, particularly in treating multiple myeloma (MM) by targeting CD38, a protein common on MM cells.
  • * Researchers have used CRISPR technology to create genetically modified NK cells that lack CD38 and have enhanced abilities to target MM cells, achieving a significant reduction in self-destruction among NK cells during treatment.
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Allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell adoptive transfer has shown the potential to induce remissions in relapsed or refractory leukemias and lymphomas, but strategies to enhance NK cell survival and function are needed to improve clinical efficacy. Here, we demonstrated that NK cells cultured ex vivo with interleukin-15 (IL-15) and nicotinamide (NAM) exhibited stable induction of l-selectin (CD62L), a lymphocyte adhesion molecule important for lymph node homing. High frequencies of CD62L were associated with elevated transcription factor forkhead box O1 (FOXO1), and NAM promoted the stability of FOXO1 by preventing proteasomal degradation.

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Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a potentially curative treatment for hematologic malignancies and nonmalignant disorders. Rapid immune reconstitution (IR) following allogeneic HCT has been shown to be associated with improved clinical outcomes and lower infection rates. A global phase 3 trial (ClinicalTrials.

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Background: Delayed hematopoietic recovery is a major drawback of umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation. Transplantation of ex vivo-expanded UCB shortens time to hematopoietic recovery, but long-term, robust engraftment by the expanded unit has yet to be demonstrated. We tested the hypothesis that a UCB-derived cell product consisting of stem cells expanded for 21 days in the presence of nicotinamide and a noncultured T cell fraction (NiCord) can accelerate hematopoietic recovery and provide long-term engraftment.

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Strategies that increase homing to the bone marrow and engraftment efficacy of ex vivo expended CD34(+) cells are expected to enhance their clinical utility. Here we report that nicotinamide (NAM), a form of vitamin B-3, delayed differentiation and increased engraftment efficacy of cord blood-derived human CD34(+) cells cultured with cytokines. In the presence of NAM, the fraction of CD34(+)CD38(-) cells increased and the fraction of differentiated cells (CD14(+), CD11b(+), and CD11c(+)) decreased.

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