AEGiS-PRn: FLT3 Ligand Stimulates Growth of Dendritic Cells: Rare Cells, with Potential in Cancer Treatment, Have Been Difficult to Study

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

FLT3 Ligand Stimulates Growth of Dendritic Cells: Rare Cells, with Potential in Cancer Treatment, Have Been Difficult to Study

PR Newswire - November 30, 1995

SEATTLE, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- A new molecule discovered and cloned by Immunex Corporation (Nasdaq: IMNX) may provide the basis for a significant advance in immunology. The molecule, Flt3 ligand (Flt3-L), has been shown to promote the growth of dendritic cells, a formerly elusive type of cell which plays a key role in initiating immune responses to cancer, HIV and other infectious diseases. Until now, research into the utility of dendritic cells has been hampered because these cells occur so rarely in the body.

Two papers to be presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference, starting in Seattle on December 1, highlight the potentially useful activities of the new molecule. Flt3-L, when administered in pre-clinical laboratory studies in mice, was shown to generate large numbers of functionally mature dendritic cells.

"Dendritic cells could be quite useful in immune response modulation, because they play a pivotal role in initiating the T cell-mediated immune response," said Eugene Maraskovsky, Immunex staff scientist and principal investigator for the presented papers. "They act like smoke detectors, in that they are continually sampling the body's internal environment for foreign proteins. For example, if a dendritic cell encounters foreign proteins such as those expressed by bacteria, viruses, parasites or tumor cells, it processes these antigens and presents them to a T cell as evidence of trouble, prompting the T cell to initiate an immune response against the infection or tumor. Dendritic cells could be useful in delivering and enhancing the efficacy of infectious disease and tumor vaccines by deliberately directing an immune response against a tumor, the HIV virus, or other antigens."

One of the presented papers reports that mice injected daily for 10 days with Flt3-L revealed a dramatic increase in dendritic cells present in the spleen. Dendritic cells from Flt3-L-treated mice were as efficient in processing and presenting antigens as freshly isolated splenic dendritic cells from untreated mice. The paper concludes that Flt3-L can be used to generate large numbers of functionally mature dendritic cells in the peripheral blood and lymphoid organs for use in immune response modulation. Another paper reports that Flt3-L generated large numbers of dendritic cells in an ex vivo cell culture of CD34+ human bone marrow, again with no loss of efficiency in the presentation of antigens.

"The capability to grow dendritic cells, either in vivo or ex vivo, has long been a goal for immunologists, because they've been so difficult to isolate in quantities large enough for thorough study," said Doug Williams, senior vice president for discovery research at Immunex. "If Flt3 ligand can provide large quantities of dendritic cells for study, we could see the therapeutic use of these cells in a variety of clinical settings."

Immunex is a biopharmaceutical company that develops immune system science for the benefit of human health.

American Home Products Corporation (NYSE: AHP), through its acquisition of American Cyanamid Company, holds a majority interest in Immunex. American Home Products is one of the world's largest research based pharmaceutical and health care products companies and is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. AHP is also a leader in vaccines, generic pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, agricultural products, animal health care, medical devices and food products.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Immunex Corporation's press releases are available at no charge through PR Newswire's Company News On-Call fax service and on PRN's Web site. For a menu of Immunex press releases or to retrieve a specific release, call 800-758-5804, extension 434644, or http://www.prnewswire.com/cnoc/exec/menu?434644 on the Internet.

CONTACT: Valoree Dowell or Robin Shapiro, of Immunex 206-587-0430/ 11:00 EST

Copyright (c) 1995/PR NewsWire. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, PR Newswire, 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019.
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