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Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). This analysis of 168 patients (mean age, 54.8 years) from a multicenter, retrospective chart review describes the clinical course, treatment patterns, hospitalizations, and clinical outcomes of patients aged ≥12 years who developed grades II–IV acute GVHD after their first allogeneic HCT (January 1, 2014, to June 30, 2016) and were refractory to or dependent on corticosteroids. Between diagnosis and maximum grade (median, 6.0 days), 53.6% of patients had new organ involvement, particularly lower gastrointestinal tract acute GVHD, or an increase in acute GVHD grade. Eighty-nine patients (53.0%) received additional systemic GVHD therapy (after systemic corticosteroids) within a median of 21.0 days. Hospital readmission(s) was required for 56.5% of patients within 100 days post-HCT (mean inpatient length of readmission stay, 49.5 days); 24.4% had ≥2 readmissions within 100 days post-HCT. From the date of acute GVHD diagnosis, 70.2% of patients died at a median (interquartile range) of 117.5 (49–258) days. In summary, steroid-refractory and steroid-dependent acute GVHD is associated with a rapidly worsening clinical course that leads to high readmission and mortality rates, emphasizing the need for effective and tolerable therapies.

Transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) is a complication of allogeneic transplantation (allo-HCT). The incidence and risk factors associated with TA-TMA are not well known. A retrospective analysis from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) was conducted including patients receiving allo-HCT between 2008 and 2016, with the primary objective of evaluating the incidence of TA-TMA. Secondary objectives included identification of risk factors associated with TA-TMA, and the impact of TA-TMA on overall survival and the need for renal replacement therapy (RRT). Among 23,665 allo-HCT recipients, the 3-year cumulative incidence of TA-TMA was 3%. Variables independently-associated with increased incidence of TA-TMA included female sex, prior autologous transplant, primary disease (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and severe aplastic anaemia), donor type (mismatched or unrelated donor), conditioning intensity (myeloablative), GVHD prophylaxis (sirolimus + calcineurin inhibitor), pre-transplant kidney dysfunction and acute GVHD (time-varying effect). TA-TMA was associated with higher mortality (HR = 3·1, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 2·8-16·3) and RRT requirement (HR = 7·1, 95% CI = 5·7-311·6). This study provides epidemiologic data on TA-TMA and its impact on transplant outcomes. Increased awareness of the risk factors will enable providers to be vigilant of this uncommon but serious transplant complication. The results will also provide benchmarking for future study designs and comparisons.

The graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) can prevent relapse but the risk of severe graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) leads to prolonged intensive immunosuppression and possible blunting of the GVL effect. Strategies to reduce immunosuppression in order to prevent relapse have been offset by increases in severe GVHD and non-relapse mortality (NRM). We recently validated the MAGIC algorithm probability (MAP) that predicts the risk for severe GVHD and NRM in asymptomatic patients using serum biomarkers. In this study we tested whether the MAP could identify patients whose risk for relapse is higher than their risk for severe GVHD and NRM. The multicenter study population (n=1604) was divided into two cohorts: historical (2006–2015, n=702) and current (2015–2017, n=902) with similar non-relapse mortality, relapse, and survival. On day 28 post-HCT, patients who had not developed GVHD (75% of the population) and who possessed a low MAP were at much higher risk for relapse (24%) than severe GVHD and NRM (16% and 9%); this difference was even more pronounced in patients with a high disease risk index (relapse 33%, NRM 9%). Such patients are good candidates to test relapse prevention strategies that might enhance GVL.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the leading cause of non-relapse mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. The majority of patients non-responsive to front line treatment with steroids have an estimated overall 2-year survival rate of only 10%. Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) proteins influence inflammatory gene transcription, and therefore represent a potential target to mitigate inflammation central to acute GVHD pathogenesis. Using potent and selective BET inhibitors Plexxikon-51107 and -2853 ({"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"PLX51107","term_id":"1321741095","term_text":"PLX51107"}}PLX51107 and PLX2853), we show that BET inhibition significantly improves survival and reduces disease progression in murine models of acute GVHD without sacrificing the beneficial graft-versus-leukemia response. BET inhibition reduces T cell alloreactive proliferation, decreases inflammatory cytokine production, and impairs dendritic cell maturation both in vitro and in vivo. RNA sequencing studies in human T cells revealed that BET inhibition impacts inflammatory IL-17 and IL-12 gene expression signatures, and Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-sequencing revealed that BRD4 binds directly to the IL-23R gene locus. BET inhibition results in decreased IL-23R expression and function as demonstrated by decreased phosphorylation of STAT3 in response to IL-23 stimulation in human T cells in vitro as well as in mouse donor T cells in vivo. Furthermore, PLX2853 significantly reduced IL-23R+ and pathogenic CD4+ IFNγ+ IL-17+ double positive T cell infiltration in gastrointestinal tissues in an acute GVHD murine model. Our findings identify a role for BET proteins in regulating the IL-23R/STAT3/IL-17 pathway. Based on our preclinical data presented here, {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"PLX51107","term_id":"1321741095","term_text":"PLX51107"}}PLX51107 will enter clinical trial for refractory acute GVHD in a Phase 1 safety, biological efficacy trial.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a barrier to successful allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) outcomes. This multicenter, retrospective chart review describes disease progression, treatment patterns, hospitalizations, and clinical outcomes among 475 patients (≥12 years old) who developed grades II–IV acute GVHD after their first HCT (January 2014–June 2016). Median (interquartile range) age at HCT was 55 (44–63) years. From the date of acute GVHD diagnosis, 190 patients (40.0%) experienced progression to more severe disease and/or developed new organ involvement. Among 431 patients with grades II–IV acute GVHD at diagnosis, 73.1% received first-line systemic corticosteroids. During follow-up (median 524 days since acute GVHD diagnosis), 23.4% of patients had an increase in steroid dose and 44.4% were unable to taper below 10 mg/day. Over half of patients (54.9%) required ≥1 hospital readmission within 100 days post-HCT (≥2 readmissions in 22.3%); mean inpatient length of stay upon readmission was 27.5 days. Approximately half of patients (52.8%) died during follow-up; 1-year overall mortality from date of acute GVHD diagnosis and nonrelapse mortality rates were 35.2% and 25.5%, respectively. Overall, patients who developed acute GVHD following HCT had poor clinical outcomes, highlighting the unmet need for early and effective treatment strategies.

Steroid-refractory (SR) acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a major cause of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), but its occurrence is not accurately predicted by pre-HCT clinical risk factors. The Mount Sinai Acute GVHD International Consortium (MAGIC) algorithm probability (MAP) identifies patients who are at high risk for developing SR GVHD as early as 7 days after HCT based on the extent of intestinal crypt damage as measured by the concentrations of 2 serum biomarkers, suppressor of tumorigenesis 2 and regenerating islet-derived 3α. We conducted a multicenter proof-of-concept “preemptive” treatment trial of α-1-antitrypsin (AAT), a serine protease inhibitor with demonstrated activity against GVHD, in patients at high risk for developing SR GVHD. Patients were eligible if they possessed a high-risk MAP on day 7 after HCT or, if initially low risk, became high risk on repeat testing at day 14. Thirty high-risk patients were treated with twice-weekly infusions of AAT for a total of 16 doses, and their outcomes were compared with 90 high-risk near-contemporaneous MAGIC control patients. AAT treatment was well tolerated with few toxicities, but it did not lower the incidence of SR GVHD compared with controls (20% vs 14%, P = .56). We conclude that real-time biomarker-based risk assignment is feasible early after allogeneic HCT but that this dose and schedule of AAT did not change the incidence of SR acute GVHD. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT03459040.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a T cell–mediated immunological disorder and the leading cause of nonrelapse mortality in patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants. Based on recent observations that protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) and arginine methylation are upregulated in activated memory T cells, we hypothesized that PRMT5 is involved in the pathogenesis of aGVHD. Here, we show that PRMT5 expression and enzymatic activity were upregulated in activated T cells in vitro and in T cells from mice developing aGVHD after allogeneic transplant. PRMT5 expression was also upregulated in T cells of patients who developed aGVHD after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant compared with those who did not develop aGVHD. PRMT5 inhibition using a selective small-molecule inhibitor (C220) substantially reduced mouse and human allogeneic T cell proliferation and inflammatory IFN-γ and IL-17 cytokine production. Administration of PRMT5 small-molecule inhibitors substantially improves survival, reducing disease incidence and clinical severity in mouse models of aGVHD without adversely affecting engraftment. Importantly, we show that PRMT5 inhibition retained the beneficial graft-versus-leukemia effect by maintaining cytotoxic CD8(+) T cell responses. Mechanistically, we show that PRMT5 inhibition potently reduced STAT1 phosphorylation as well as transcription of proinflammatory genes, including interferon-stimulated genes and IL-17. Additionally, PRMT5 inhibition deregulates the cell cycle in activated T cells and disrupts signaling by affecting ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Thus, we have identified PRMT5 as a regulator of T cell responses and as a therapeutic target in aGVHD.

The Mount Sinai Acute GVHD International Consortium (MAGIC) algorithm probability (MAP), derived from 2 serum biomarkers, measures damage to crypts in the gastrointestinal tract during graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We hypothesized that changes in MAP after treatment could validate it as a response biomarker. We prospectively collected serum samples and clinical stages of acute GVHD from 615 patients receiving hematopoietic cell transplantation in 20 centers at initiation of first-line systemic treatment and 4 weeks later. We computed MAPs and clinical responses and compared their abilities to predict 6-month nonrelapse mortality (NRM) in the validation cohort (n = 367). After 4 weeks of treatment, MAPs predicted NRM better than the change in clinical symptoms in all patients and identified 2 groups with significantly different NRM in both clinical responders (40% vs 12%, P < .0001) and nonresponders (65% vs 25%, P < .0001). MAPs successfully reclassified patients for NRM risk within every clinical grade of acute GVHD after 4 weeks of treatment. At the beginning of treatment, patients with a low MAP that rose above the threshold of 0.290 after 4 weeks of treatment had a significant increase in NRM, whereas patients with a high MAP at onset that fell below that threshold after treatment had a striking decrease in NRM that translated into clear differences in overall survival. We conclude that a MAP measured before and after treatment of acute GVHD is a response biomarker that predicts long-term outcomes more accurately than change in clinical symptoms. MAPs have the potential to guide therapy for acute GVHD and may function as a useful end point in clinical trials.

Background Preliminary evidence indicates that the addition of low-dose total body irradiation (TBI) (2-4 Gy) to reduced intensity conditioning may reduce the rate of relapse in allogeneic stem cell transplants. In very high-risk patients receiving combination haploidentical single-unit cord blood transplants, we have added 4 Gy TBI to the widely used fludarabine, melphalan conditioning regimen, in hopes of reducing relapse and decreasing graft rejection. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the posttransplant outcomes of patients who underwent haplocord stem cell transplant between May 2013 and March 2015 and who received fludarabine 30 mg/m day (D)-7 to -3, melphalan 140 mg/m D-2, and 2 Gy TBI D-4 and -3. Results All 25 patients achieved primary neutrophil engraftment after a median of 12 days. The median time to platelet engraftment was 27 days. The cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality was 16% by D+100 and 33% by 1 year. The cumulative incidence of grade III to IV acute graft-versus-host disease was 36% by D+100. The CIR was 13% by D+100 and 29% by 1 year. The estimated 1-year overall survival and progression-free survival were 40% and 37%, respectively. In a subgroup analysis, we compared the outcome of 13 acute myeloid leukemia patients receiving this conditioning regimen with age and disease risk index-matched acute myeloid leukemia patients receiving fludarabine-melphalan without TBI. The TBI group had lower incidence of relapse at 1 year (15% vs 54%, P = 0.05). Conclusions Overall, combination fludarabine-melphalan with low-dose TBI after haplocord stem cell transplant assures good engraftment and leads to acceptable toxicity and disease control in the setting of high risk, heavily pretreated patients. These findings warrant further investigation at a larger-scale, prospective level.

Due to their ease of use, the direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are an attractive treatment option for cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) and have been readily adopted by many clinicians. A recent published study comparing a DOAC (edoxaban) to the current standard-of-care low molecular weight heparin dalteparin for the treatment of cancer-associated thrombosis showed that edoxaban was noninferior to dalteparin for recurrent VTE, but the risk of major bleeding was higher. We present three patients with high-risk gastrointestinal malignancies complicated by cancer-associated VTE with progression of thrombosis while treated with the oral direct Xa inhibitor rivaroxaban. Upon switching therapy to low molecular weight heparin, we found that these patients had clinical and radiologic improvement of VTE. More studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of rivaroxaban in high-risk gastrointestinal-VTE. We suggest that in some patients, DOACs may not be sufficient for the treatment of VTEs related to high-risk gastrointestinal malignancies.

Current understanding of the immunomodulatory mechanisms of extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is that 8-methoxypsoralen incubation and UVA exposure of peripheral lymphocytes induces (1) maturation...

Introduction: Acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in allogeneic hematopoietic stem marrow transplant (allo-HSCT), with rates ranging from 30% to 70%. Preventing GVHD without impairing the graft-versus-tumor effect remains an important goal for successful allo-HSCT. Tacrolimus (TAC), a calcineurin inhibitor that prevents T-cell activation, is commonly used as aGVHD prophylaxis. The influence of TAC has proved effective for preventing aGVHD after allo-HSCT. There is also variability in the serum concentrations of TAC and very little is known on the impact of early (first 4 weeks) TAC levels on aGVHD incidence. Given the immunologic events that lead to aGVHD, which occur within the first few days after transplant, we sought to assess whether early TAC levels were associated with aGVHD. Methods: Data were analyzed for 707 consecutive patients undergoing allo-HSCT at the Ohio State University between 2002- 2016. All patients received standard prophylaxis with TAC daily and methotrexate at a dose of 5mg/m2 on days +1, +3, +6, and +11 post allo-HSCT. Patients received anti-thymoglobulin (ATG) if receiving stem cells from an unrelated/mismatch related donor. The TAC target range was 5-12 ng/mL averaged over a 7-day period. The primary outcome of interest was the incidence of aGVHD and its association with the mean weekly TAC levels. Secondary endpoints included incidence of chronic GVHD (cGVHD), relapse and overall survival (OS). Fine and Gray's proportional hazard models accounting for competing risks were used to evaluate the association between TAC levels and outcome of aGVHD, cGVHD and relapse. Cox proportional hazard models were used for the association with OS. Mean weekly TAC levels were included in the analyses as continuous variables and then divided into tertiles. A multivariable model adjusted for confounding factors. Results: Among the 707 patients, median age was 53 years (range: 19-75) and 60.7% were male. In all, 68% patients received reduced-intensity conditioning and the remaining 32% received myeloablative conditioning. The median age of donors was 34 years (range: 18-81) with 74.7% male. Of the donors, 36.9% were match related and 55.9% match unrelated. Peripheral blood was the stem cell source for 90.2% of the patients. A total of 449 (63.5%) patients received ATG. The diagnosis included acute myeloid leukemia (36.3%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (16.41%), myelodysplastic syndrome (11.7%), and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (11.88%). The mean weekly TAC concentrations at weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 8.0, 9.7, 11.3 and 10.5 ng/mL, respectively. The cumulative incidence of grades II-IV aGVHD was 40% (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 36%-43%) at day 100 and 45% (95% CI: 41%-48%) at day 180 post-transplant. In univariable analysis, high TAC level at week 1 was associated with lower grade II-IV aGVHD (Hazard ratio (HR), 0.96; 95%CI, 0.93-0.99; p = 0.006). We examined the effect of week 1 TAC levels categorized into tertiles (< 5.85, 5.85-8.95 and >8.95 ng/ml). Higher level of TAC (>8.95 ng/ml) was associated with lower risk of aGVHD (Figure 1a). In multivariable analysis, week 1 TAC levels > 5.85 ng/ml remained associated with a lower risk of grade II-IV aGVHD. However, only levels of 5.85-8.95 ng/ml were associated with statistically significant lower risk with HR=0.75 95% CI, 0.57-0.98; p=0.04 compared to the lower group (7.2 ng/ml (HR: 0.78, 95%CI: 0.62-0.98; p=0.03). The cumulative incidence of cGVHD was 41% (95% CI: 37%-44%) at 1 year post-allo-HSCT. Since GVHD is closely intertwined with the graft-versus-tumor effect, we examined whether early TAC levels influenced the risk of disease relapse. TAC levels at week 1 were not associated with relapse. However, week 2 TAC level >10.6 ng/ml was associated with an increased risk of relapse in multivariable analysis (HR, 1.37, CI, 1.01-1.85, p=0.043) (Figure 1b), after adjusting for confounding variables. The cumulative incidence of relapse at 1, 3 and 5 year post allo-HSCT was 33%, 38% and 40%, respectively. TAC levels at weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4 were not associated with OS. Conclusion: Achieving mean whole-blood level of tacrolimus between 6.0-9.0 ng/ml within the first week post-allogenic bone marrow transplantation may reduce the risk of aGVHD. Disclosures Rosko: Vyxeos: Other: Travel support. Vasu:Boehringer Ingelheim: Other: Travel support; Seattle Genetics: Other: Clinical trial support. Jaglowski:Kite: Consultancy, Other: advisory board, Research Funding; Juno: Consultancy, Other: advisory board; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: advisory board, Research Funding; Unum Therapeutics Inc.: Research Funding. William:Techspert: Consultancy; Guidepoint Global: Consultancy; Defined Health: Consultancy; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy; Kyowa Kirin, Inc.: Consultancy. Mims:Agios Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; PTC Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Brammer:Bioniz Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding; Viracta Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding; Verastem, Inc: Research Funding. Saad:Actinium Pharma Inc: Consultancy; Amgen: Other: Research Support; Kadmon: Other: Research Support; OrcaBio: Other: Research Support. Efebera:Janssen: Speakers Bureau; Akcea: Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria.

Introduction: Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease (aGVHD) affects 30-70% of all allogeneic stem cell transplant (alloSCT) recipients, contributing to high non-relapse mortality. aGVHD is due to donor T cell cytotoxic inflammatory effects stimulated by exposure to foreign host antigens. Epigenetic modulation by BET inhibition boasts anti-inflammatory effects. BET proteins are a class of epigenetic "reader molecules," functioning as key mediators of transcription. BET proteins regulate inflammatory gene expression and are targetable. BET inhibition decreases NF-kB dependent cytokine expression and Th1/Th17 differentiation without affecting regulatory T cell differentiation. BET inhibition disrupts BRD4 interaction with the acetylated component of NF-kB, RelA. Therefore, we hypothesize that BET inhibition is a feasible and effective strategy to mitigate T cell mediated aGVHD inflammation. In this study, we have used PLX51107 and PLX2853 - novel BET inhibitors developed by Plexxikon Inc that possess a unique binding mode and high bioavailability ideal for preclinical evaluation. PLX2853 (second generation) was designed to increase potency and improve tolerability. Materials and Methods: aGVHD allogeneic mouse model: Lethally irradiated (1200 cGy) B6D2F1 recipients received T cell depleted bone marrow cells (TCD-BM, 10x106) and CD45.1+ B6 splenocytes (15x106) intravenously via tail vein injection. Recipients were treated by oral gavage, 3x weekly with PLX51107 (10 mg/kg), PLX2853 (4 mg/kg) or vehicle. We evaluated two dosing schedules - starting at day +1 or day +7 after transplant in the PLX51107 studies and day +1 only after infusion of allogeneic CD45.1+ B6 splenocytes in the PLX2853 studies. Survival and clinical aGVHD scores were assessed. Xenogeneic mouse model: NSG mice were conditioned with 50 cGy X-ray irradiation and injected with 15-20x106 human PBMCs and treated with PLX2853 (4 mg/kg) or vehicle starting day +1. Survival was assessed. Graft-versus-Tumor model: In vivo: Lethally irradiated F1 mice were intravenously injected with firefly luciferase-transduced murine mastocytoma P815 cells on day 0 with B6 TCD-BM ± allogeneic B6 splenocytes (n=8 per cohort). Recipients were treated with PLX2853 (4 mg/kg) or vehicle (oral gavage, 3x weekly) starting at day +1 post-transplant. Survival was assessed. In vitro: Murine CD45.1 B6 CD8+ T cells were stimulated in vitro with PMA/Ionomycin ± PLX2853 (10nM) for 5 days and then degranulation was analyzed in response to P815 tumor challenge to evaluate CTL capacity via flow cytometry of intracellular CD107a expression. Study designs are illustrated in the Figure (Panel A). Results: PLX51107 demonstrates potent biological activity and improves survival in a murine model of aGVHD. Administration of PLX51107 dramatically improved survival of recipient mice (B) and reduced aGVHD clinical scores (C). PLX2853 significantly improves survival in multiple mouse models of aGVHD. Our in-vitro data show that PLX2853 (IC50 ~10nM) is more potent than PLX51107 (IC50 ~500nM). Therefore, we validated the biological activity and efficacy of PLX2853 in mouse models of aGVHD. PLX2853 significantly prolonged survival of allogeneic transplanted recipient mice (D) and resulted in reduced clinical scores (E). Recipient mice in the xenogeneic mouse model showed improved survival with PLX2853 treatment (F). PLX2853 maintains Graft Versus Tumor response in vivo and does not abrogate CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses in vitro. BET inhibition retained beneficial GVT effects as seen by improvement in survival comparable to vehicle group (G). PLX2853 treated CD8+ T cells showed comparable degranulation to control as measured by CD107a mobilization (H, I). These results suggest that BET inhibition does not abrogate CD8+ CTL capacity, correlating to retention of GVT effects observed in vivo. Conclusions: PLX51107 was well tolerated at both day +1 and +7 initiation, demonstrating the future feasibility of BET inhibition as a prophylactic or therapeutic strategy for aGVHD. PLX2853 given at lower doses demonstrated similar improvements in survival and GVHD scoring, consistent with increased potency. Preliminary in vivo and in vitro studies of PLX2853 on GVT and on CD8+ CTLs show that PLX2853 retains GVT effects. Additional mechanistic in vivo and in vitro studies are ongoing. Figure Disclosures Powell: Plexxikon Inc.: Employment. Bollag:Plexxikon Inc.: Employment.

Systemic glucocorticoids are the principal treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which remains the major cause of non-relapse mortality (NRM) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). However, there are no validated biomarkers that measure a patient's response to glucocorticoid therapy, and thus response is evaluated by the change in clinical symptom severity. A major weakness in the predictive power of clinical responses is that changes to all organs are weighted equally even though the major driver of NRM is irreversible damage to the crypts of the GI tract. Recent studies from the Mount Sinai Acute GVHD International Consortium (MAGIC) have validated an algorithm probability (MAP) that combines serum concentrations of two biomarkers of GVHD (REG3α and ST2) to generate an estimated probability of 6 month NRM for individual patients. The MAP has been considered a "liquid biopsy" that estimates the damage caused by GVHD to crypts throughout the lower GI tract (Hartwell et al., JCI Insight, 2017; Major-Monfried et al., Blood, 2018). We hypothesized that the change in MAP between start of treatment and 28 days later could serve as a response biomarker for GVHD and might compare favorably to the change in clinical symptoms that measures response to GVHD treatment, which is widely used as a surrogate for long term survival and is the primary endpoint in most GVHD treatment trials (Martin et al., BBMT, 2009; MacMillan et al., Blood, 2010). We prospectively collected serum samples and clinical staging from 368 sequential HCT patients who received systemic treatment for acute GVHD in one of 20 MAGIC centers between January 2016 and February 2018. We measured the serum concentrations of REG3α and ST2 before and after systemic therapy for acute GVHD and computed MAPs, the changes in MAPs, and clinical responses for each patient. MAPs of patients who experienced 6 month NRM showed significantly greater increases than MAPs of patients who survived (p=0.0004). In patients whose MAPs at the start of treatment were low (Ann Arbor 1, MAP < 0.141) or intermediate (Ann Arbor 2, 0.141 ≤ MAP ≤ 0.290), 6 month NRM clustered among those who had the greatest increases in MAP after 28 days (Fig 1A,B). In patients with high MAPs at the start of treatment (Ann Arbor 3, MAP > 0.290), those who survived tended to have the largest decreases in MAP (Fig 1C). These changes in MAP suggested crossing a single threshold could predict risk of mortality. We found that patients whose MAPs rose above a threshold MAP of 0.290 (5% of Ann Arbor 1, 27% of Ann Arbor 2) had significantly worse survival compared to those who remained below it, whereas the large number patients with initially high MAPs that remained above the threshold (66% of Ann Arbor 3) had a large increases in mortality (Fig 2). When measured at day 28, the MAP was significantly more accurate in predicting NRM than the gold standard of the clinical response, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.86 and 0.70, respectively (p We conclude that the MAP is, to our knowledge, the first validated laboratory test to serve as response biomarker for the treatment for acute GVHD and a more accurate predictor of survival than clinical response after four weeks of treatment. The MAP may serve as a novel endpoint and an important complement to changes in clinical symptom severity in future trials of GVHD treatment. Disclosures Srinagesh: National Institutes of Health: Research Funding. Ozbek:Viracor: Patents & Royalties: Biomarker Patent. Ayuk:Novartis: Honoraria, Other: Advisory Board, Research Funding. Aziz:Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Research Funding. Defilipp:Incyte: Research Funding. Grupp:Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy; CBMG: Consultancy; Novartis: Research Funding; Kite: Research Funding; Servier: Research Funding; Jazz: Other: study steering committees or scientific advisory boards; Adaptimmune: Other: study steering committees or scientific advisory boards; Cure Genetics: Consultancy; Humanigen: Consultancy. Hexner:novartis: Research Funding. Kitko:Mallinckrodt: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria. Mielke:EBMT/EHA: Other: Travel support; ISCT: Other: Travel support; Miltenyi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and speakers fee (via institution), Speakers Bureau; Jazz Pharma: Honoraria, Other: Travel support, Speakers Bureau; IACH: Other: Travel support; Kiadis Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel support (via institution), Speakers Bureau; DGHO: Other: Travel support; Bellicum: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel (via institution); GILEAD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel (via institution), Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Travel support (via institution), Speakers Bureau. Merli:Sobi: Consultancy; Amgen: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Bellicum: Consultancy. Pulsipher:Amgen: Other: Lecture; Miltenyi: Research Funding; Bellicum: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Jazz: Other: Education for employees; CSL Behring: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Medac: Honoraria. Qayed:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria. Reshef:Pfizer: Consultancy; Magenta: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy, Research Funding; Atara: Consultancy, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Shire: Research Funding. Levine:Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding; Biogen: Other: non-financial support; Viracor: Patents & Royalties: biomarker patent; Ironwood: Honoraria; bluebird bio: Consultancy; National Cancer Institute: Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; Kamada: Research Funding. Ferrara:National Institutes of Health: Research Funding; ViraCor: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Kamada: Consultancy; Mallinckrodt: Consultancy; Enlivex: Consultancy; Xenikos: Consultancy; CSL Behring: Consultancy.

Introduction: Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), a T cell-mediated immunological disorder is the leading cause of non-relapse mortality in patients receiving allogeneic bone marrow transplants. Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) catalyzes symmetric dimethylation (me2s) of arginine (R) residues on histones (primarily H3R8 and H3R4) and other proteins. PRMT5 is overexpressed in many leukemias and lymphomas, and epigenetic changes driven by PRMT5 lead to repression of tumor suppressors and promote growth and survival of cancer cells. Recently it was shown that T cells are sensitive to R-methylation and PRMT5 promotes activation of memory T helper cells. Here we investigate: 1) mechanisms by which PRMT5 regulates T cell function; and 2) PRMT5 inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for aGVHD. Materials and Methods: Splenic T cells were isolated from lethally irradiated B6D2F1 mice that received either T cell depleted bone marrow (TCD-BM) or TCD-BM with C57/BL6 (B6) allogeneic splenocytes on day 21 post-transplant. In vitro activation of B6 T cells was achieved with CD3/CD28 Dynabeads or co-culture with allogeneic BM-derived dendritic cells. PRMT5 expression (RT-PCR, western blot) and function (H3R8me2s western blot) were evaluated. PRT220, a novel inhibitor of PRMT5, was used to evaluate PRMT5 inhibition on T cell function in vitro and in vivo. We assessed T cell proliferation (Cell Trace Violet, Ki67), apoptosis (Annexin V), cytokine secretion (ELISA, flow cytometry), cell cycle (PI incorporation), and cell signaling (western blot). Lethally irradiated F1 recipients received TCD-BM only (10x106 cells) or TCD-BM + B6 splenocytes (20 x 106). Recipients of allogeneic splenocytes were treated with PRT220 (2mg/kg) or vehicle by oral gavage once weekly starting day 7 post-transplant. Mice were monitored for survival and clinical aGVHD scores. Results: PRMT5 expression and function is upregulated following T cell activation. Inhibition of PRMT5 reduces T cell proliferation and IFN-g secretion. PRMT5 inhibition in CD3/CD28 stimulated T cells results in disruption of multiple histone epigenetic marks, cell-cycle progression (via G1 arrest) and perturbation of ERK-MAPK signaling cascades. Finally, administration of PRT220 resulted in significantly prolonging the survival of allo-transplanted recipient mice (median survival, PRT220 vs. vehicle, 36.5 vs. 26 days, p=0.01). PRT220-treated recipients also exhibited significant lower aGVHD clinical (p Conclusions: PRMT5 expression and function are upregulated in activated T cells. Inhibition of PRMT5 function using a novel and specific small-molecule inhibitor, PRT220, down-regulates T cells proliferative and effector response, induces cell-cycle arrest and perturbs signaling pathways. PRT220 shows potent biological activity in vivo by reducing aGVHD clinical severity and significantly prolonging survival in mouse models of aGVHD. Therefore, PRMT5 is a novel and druggable target for aGVHD. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Relapse of malignancy and lethal graft versus host disease (GVHD) are the principal causes of failure of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). Recently we have shown that at seven days after HCT an algorithm using two serum biomarkers (ST2 and REG3α) can predict severe GVHD (Hartwell et al. JCI Insight 2017). We determined whether serial testing (in the first month following HCT) of patients with low probability biomarkers would improve the predictive accuracy of the algorithm and identify patients with different risks of relapse and lethal GVHD. Patients who received an HCT at 18 centers in the Mount Sinai Acute GVHD International Consortium (MAGIC) for hematologic malignancy and who supplied three blood samples were divided into a training set and validation set with equal numbers of lethal GVHD events, which was defined as death from GVHD or infection during treatment for GVHD. Patients in the training set (n=702) underwent HCT from January 1, 2006 until June 30, 2015, whereas patients in the validation set (n=906) underwent HCT from July 1, 2015 to May 1, 2017. Serum samples were analyzed using the previously published algorithm of two biomarkers up to three times (day 7, day 14, day 28 or GVHD onset, if onset occurred within the first 28 days). The algorithm generates a predicted probability of lethal GVHD between 0 and 1 for each patient. Patients were categorized as either low probability (LP) or high probability (HP) for lethal GVHD. HP thresholds of 0.20 and 0.16 were used to classify patients with and without GVHD symptoms, respectively (once categorized as HP, patients remained in that category and were not retested). All results were similar between training and validation sets, and we present here the validation set results. Serial testing identified 28% of patients as HP with a three-fold greater cumulative incidence of lethal GVHD at one year (13% vs 4%, p Early development of GVHD (by day 28) is a risk factor for lethal GVHD. Therefore, we next plotted RFS (dashed line), relapse (solid line), and lethal GVHD (dotted line) rates in patients who developed GVHD by day 28. 25% of patients with GVHD were categorized as HP and had a cumulative incidence of lethal GVHD more than four times higher (28%) than that of relapse (6%); however the risks were reversed for the 75% of patients who were LP, where relapse (15%) occurred twice as often as lethal GVHD (7%) (Figure 3B). In patients who did not develop GVHD in the first month, this reversal of risks was even more dramatic. Approximately half (53%) of the entire validation cohort did not develop GVHD by day 28 and was LP at all three evaluations. These patients had an exceptionally low risk of lethal GVHD and thus they relapsed (25%) much more often than they died from GVHD (3%). When malignancies were classified according to risk for relapse by the disease risk index (DRI) (Figure 3C), the probability of relapse was three fold higher than lethal GVHD in malignancies with a low DRI (12%), six fold higher for intermediate DRI (20%), and eleven fold higher for high/very high DRI (33%). We conclude that a serial monitoring strategy using GVHD biomarkers for one month after HCT is able to identify two groups of patients with very different risks of lethal GVHD and relapse. For these patients, the intensity of immunosuppression after day 28 could be tailored according to the probabilities of developing lethal GVHD and relapse in the context of clinical trials. Disclosures Aziz: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Research Funding. Ayuk:Therakos (Mallinckrodt): Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy. Chen:REGiMMUNE: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy; Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Merli:Neovii Biotech: Honoraria; AMGEN: Honoraria. Roesler:Sanofi: Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Amgen: Equity Ownership; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Immunomedics: Equity Ownership; Biogen: Equity Ownership; Merck: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy. Kitko:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Mallinckrodt: Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses. Qayed:Novartis: Consultancy. Wölfl:Bristol-myers Squibb: Equity Ownership; Novartis: Equity Ownership; Taheda: Equity Ownership; Juno: Equity Ownership; Neovii: Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses. Mielke:Celgene: Speakers Bureau; DGHO: Speakers Bureau; EHA: Speakers Bureau; Kiadis Pharma: Speakers Bureau; Miltenyi: Speakers Bureau. Wudhikarn:Takeda Oncology: Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses. Nakamura:Celgene: Honoraria; Molmed: Honoraria; Merck: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Atara: Consultancy; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Pulsipher:CSL Behring: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Adaptive Biotech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria. Reshef:Pfizer: Consultancy; Atara Biotherapeutics: Consultancy; Kite Pharma: Consultancy; Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy. Levine:Therakos: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Bluebird: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Kamada: Research Funding; Viracor: Patents & Royalties. Ferrara:Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Xenikos: Consultancy, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Kamada: Consultancy, Research Funding; Viracor: Consultancy, Patents & Royalties.

Background: Haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT) is an advancing and potentially curative therapy for patients with hematologic malignancies when the availability of HLA-matched donors are limited. The common source for haplo-HCT is donor bone marrow, but peripheral blood (PB) haplo-HCT is an emerging and less invasive option with similar survival outcomes. However, multiple series showed an increased incidence of culture negative fever early after haplo-HCT, which has been attributed to cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and more commonly observed with PB haplo-HCT. In this study, we investigated the incidence and impact of CRS on clinical outcomes and financial toxicity in PB haplo-HCT patients treated at a single center. Methods: A total of 40 patients who underwent PB haplo-HCT in the Ohio State University between Jan 2015 - Dec 2017 were included. CRS was defined and graded based on the criteria proposed by Lee, et al (Blood, 2014). Symptoms occurring before day +14 were included, patients with a documented infection (e.g. positive culture data) and clinical suspicion of sepsis were excluded. Overall survival (OS) was defined as the time from transplantation until death. Transplant-related mortality (TRM) was defined as death before day +28 from any cause and patients who died after day +28 with no evidence of disease. Results:. The median age at HCT was 53 years (range, 19 to 74), 63% were male. The most common diagnosis was acute myeloid leukemia (47.5%), followed by lymphoma (22.5%), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (7.5%) and myelodysplastic syndrome (7.5%). Two patients had undergone previous autologous HCT. At the time of haplo-HCT, 62% of patients were in complete remission, 38% had relapsed/refractory disease. Donor was the child in 58%, sibling in 24% and parent in 18% with an antigen match ratio of 5/10 in 50%, 6/10 in 30%, 7/10 in 12.5%, 8/10 in 7.5%. Mismatch for sex and ABO blood group were seen in 50% and 45%, respectively. Twenty percent of patients received myeloablative conditioning with fludarabine/busulfan/thiotepa, while 80% received reduced-intensity regimen with fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/total body irradiation. The incidence of CRS was 85%, including grade 1-2 CRS in 77.5% and grade 3-4 CRS in 7.5%. Time to the onset of CRS was Conclusions: CRS is commonly observed after PB haplo-HCT and usually manifests with fever within 48 hours of cell infusion. We observed favorable survival outcomes in patients who experienced mild CRS, which may suggest an association between mild CRS and graft-versus-leukemia effect. A minority of patients developed severe CRS requiring intensive care unit support, which was associated with poor OS, high TRM, prolonged hospital stay and increased financial toxicity. Further studies investigating biomarkers that can predict the development of severe CRS might enable the incorporation of CRS prophylaxis (e.g. with tocilizumab) into standard conditioning regimens for PB haplo-HCT. Disclosures Vasu: Boehringer Ingelheim Inc: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Mims:Novartis: Consultancy; Abbvie Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Agios Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Devine:Kiadis Pharma: Consultancy. Jaglowski:Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Juno: Consultancy.

Background: Patients ≥55 years of age with active, relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML) who have failed standard induction therapies most often receive salvage therapy with a wide variety of agents, but very few achieve remission. These patients do not routinely undergo allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) due to lack of efficacy using a standard HCT approach. The SIERRA trial is a prospective, randomized, phase 3, open-label, ongoing multicenter trial designed to address this significant unmet need in R/R AML. This trial compares Iomab-B, an 131I-radiolabeled anti-CD45 antibody as targeted conditioning prior to HCT against standard conventional care therapies with an accrual goal of 150 patients. We have performed a preliminary safety analysis, validating the initial feasibility of this multi-center trial. Methods: Eligible patients are ≥ 55 years of age with active, R/R AML, adequate organ function, and related/unrelated matched donor. Patients are randomized (1:1 ratio) to receive dosimetry directed Iomab-B followed 12 days later by HCT with fludarabine 30 mg/m2 x 3 days and 2 Gy of total body irradiation as transplant conditioning, or to a Conventional Care (CC) arm. Patients randomized to CC, may receive investigator's choice of salvage induction chemotherapy including approved targeted agents as well as Venetoclax (in combination with a hypomethylating agent) and proceed to standard HCT if they achieve complete remission (CR). If patients do not achieve CR, the study allows optional cross-over to the Iomab-B arm, evaluated between days 28-42 after CC therapy. The primary efficacy endpoint for the study is durable complete remission (dCR) of 6 months. The secondary efficacy objective is to evaluate overall survival at 1 year. Results: Forty patients have been enrolled to date and data are available for 38 patients (19 = Iomab-B, 19 = CC) as of July 5th, 2018. The median age was 63 years (range: 55-76). All patients had active disease at the time of enrollment with median bone marrow (BM) blasts of 30% in the Iomab-B arm and 47% in the crossover arm prior to receiving Iomab-B (Table 1). Of the patients in the CC arm, 88% did not achieve a CR and 65% of those crossed-over to receive Iomab-B. The most common reason preventing crossover was declining performance status. Time to HCT was not increased in the crossover patients receiving Iomab-B compared to those that underwent a standard of care transplant after achieving CR (median 65 vs 75 days), while the Iomab-B arm patients were transplanted at a median of 27 days after randomization. Iomab-B therapy was well-tolerated with no grade 3 or 4 infusion-related reactions reported. The median activity of Iomab-B was 626 mCi (range: 397-1027). All patients randomized to Iomab-B (N=13) engrafted, with median days to engraftment of ANC at 13 (range: 9-22) and platelets at 17 (range: 13-26). All patients who received Iomab-B after crossover (N=9) also engrafted with time to engraftment similar to patients initially randomized to the Iomab-B arm (Table 1). Donor chimerism (≥95%), within 100 days after HCT, was found in 9 of 10 patients in the Iomab-B arm and 8 of 9 patients in those that crossed over to receive Iomab-B, with two patient exceptions having mixed donor chimerism at day 28. A preliminary safety analysis for all randomized patients on either study arm showed the most frequent non-hematologic adverse events ≥ grade 3 occurring in >10% patients were febrile neutropenia (34.2%), stomatitis (15.8%), malnutrition (13.2%), epistaxis, sepsis, hypotension, hypobilirubinemia and fatigue (all 10.5%). There were no Iomab-B-related deaths. Interpretation: Preliminary safety analysis demonstrates the feasibility of delivering targeted conditioning with Iomab- B for HCT in R/R AML patients who have active disease and a high BM blast burden (median: ≥ 30%) prior to transplantation. All patients who received Iomab-B, including those crossed over after failing to achieve CR on CC salvage therapy, engrafted ANC within 13 days, despite active disease prior to transplant. In addition, the time to HCT from randomization was not increased in patients receiving Iomab-B after cross-over compared to those who underwent standard of care HCT after achieving CR on the CC arm. This study is currently enrolling and for full study details see www.sierratrial.com or clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02665065). Disclosures Tomlinson: Foundation Medicine: Consultancy. Foran:Xencor, Inc.: Research Funding; Agios: Research Funding. Chen:Bellicum Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Levy:Takeda (Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.): Consultancy. Lazarus:Pluristem Ltd.: Consultancy. Berger:Actinium Pharmaceuticals: Employment, Equity Ownership. Reddy:Actinium Pharmaceuticals: Employment, Equity Ownership; Pharmacyclics: Employment. Pagel:Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy.