CD84

Class

Autologous CAR T-cell therapy (anti-CD84 chimeric antigen receptor)

Pathway

CAR-mediated T-cell recognition and killing of CD84-overexpressing leukemic blasts

CD84 is a cell-surface receptor belonging to the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) family, a group of proteins that mediate contact-dependent communication between immune cells. It is expressed on subsets of lymphocytes, monocytes, and platelets, and is markedly overexpressed on the malignant cells in several leukemias, where it also appears to support survival signaling between tumor cells and their surrounding microenvironment. This combination of high, relatively selective surface expression and a possible role in sustaining the leukemic clone makes CD84 an attractive target for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, a modality in which a patient's own T cells are genetically engineered to express a synthetic receptor that recognizes a chosen surface antigen and triggers direct cytotoxic killing upon binding. Once infused, CAR T cells expressing an anti-CD84 receptor can recognize CD84-bearing leukemic blasts, engage them independent of the T-cell receptor's normal antigen-presentation requirements, and eliminate them through cytotoxic mechanisms similar to those used against virally infected cells. This approach broadly matters in hematologic malignancies where conventional chemotherapy fails to eradicate resistant or minimal residual disease, offering a cellular, antigen-directed alternative to systemic cytotoxic drugs.