Towards Effective, Patient-tailored Anti-plasma Cell Therapies in AL Amyloidosis: Predicting Drug Response and Overcoming Drug Resistance

To identify and validate biological, genetic, and proteomic biomarkers predictive of in vivo response to proteasome inhibitor-based first-line therapies in patients with AL amyloidosis. This will be achieved through the integration of ex vivo drug sensitivity assays performed on patient-derived CD138+ plasma cells, characterization of plasma cell and mesenchymal stromal cell biological features, and retrospective and prospective molecular analyses. Biomarker profiles will be correlated with hematologic response at 6 months and used to develop a predictive statistical model of treatment response.

To investigate the mutational, transcriptional, and proteomic profiles associated with in vivo resistance to proteasome inhibitors by comparing plasma cell clones at diagnosis and minimal residual disease (MRD). Analyses will include next-generation sequencing, targeted DNA sequencing of genes involved in proteostasis, and quantitative proteomics to identify molecular determinants of drug resistance.

To assess the ex vivo sensitivity of patient-derived amyloidogenic plasma cells to DUB inhibitors and to characterize the expression of DUB family members at RNA and protein level. The study will evaluate whether DUB inhibition can overcome resistance to proteasome inhibitors and identify candidate DUB inhibitors for therapeutic development.

To evaluate the contribution of patient-derived mesenchymal stromal cells to resistance against proteasome inhibitors by assessing their protective effect in co-culture systems with amyloidogenic plasma cells or cell lines.