Targeting Aberrant Ncam (neural cell adhesion molecule; CD56) Expression in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract Background Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease of the hematopoietic progenitor cell driven by the subsequent acquisition of genetic alterations. Approximately 20% of AML patients show strong expression of CD56 (neural cell adhesion molecule; NCAM). Expression of NCAM is associated with poor overall survival; however, the functional role of aberrant NCAM expression has not been investigated to date. The goal of this study is to examine the biological role of NCAM in AML and to explore whether NCAM represents a potential therapeutic target. Results In order to evaluate the clinical significance of elevated NCAM expression in AML, we screened a panel of human cell …