Cytotoxic activity of gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) in acute myeloid leukemia correlates with the expression of protein kinase Syk

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells express the cell surface antigen CD33 that, upon ligation with a monoclonal antibody (mAb), is a downregulator of cell growth in a Syk-dependent manner. An anti-CD33 mAb coupled to a toxin, gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO), is used for the treatment of AML (Mylotarg). Therefore, we investigated whether the response of AML cells to GO treatment also depends on Syk expression. Forty primary AML samples (25 Syk-positive and 15 Syk-negative) were tested for their response to the anti-proliferative effects of GO and unmodified anti-CD33 mAb. A correlation between Syk expression and the response of leukemia cells to GO and anti-CD33 mAb was found. 'Blocking' of Syk by small interfering RNA resulted in unresponsiveness of AML cells to both GO and anti-CD33 mAb-mediated cytotoxicity. Syk upregulation by the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine (5-aza) induced re-expression of Syk in some cases, resulting in enhanced GO and anti-CD33 mediated inhibition of leukemia cell growth. Thus, the cytotoxicity of both GO and anti-CD33 in primary AML samples was associated with Syk expression. 5-Aza restored Syk and increased the sensitivity of originally Syk-negative, non-responsive cells to CD33 ligation to levels of Syk-positive cells. These data have clinical significance for predicting response to GO and designing clinical trials.