Targeting CLL-1 for acute myeloid leukemia therapy

Despite major scientific discoveries and novel therapies over the past four decades, the treatment outcomes of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), especially in the adult patient population remain dismal. In the past few years, an increasing number of targets such as CD33, CD123, CLL-1, CD47, CD70, and TIM3, have been developed for immunotherapy of AML. Among them, CLL-1 has attracted the researchers’ attention due to its high expression in AML while being absent in normal hematopoietic stem cell. Accumulating evidence have demonstrated CLL-1 is an ideal target for AML. In this paper, we will review the expression of CLL-1 on normal cells and AML, the value of CLL-1 in diagnosis and follow-up, and targeting CLL-1 therapy-based antibody and chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy as well as providing an overview of CLL-1 as a target for AML.