Harnessing the potential of idiotypic peptide therapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma

The idiotype determinant of surface Immunoglobulin B-Cell Receptor (IgBCR) is the most reliable clonal marker of tumor cell population and can be exploited for novel targeting approaches. We previously developed a novel experimental approach to identify peptide ligands of the IgBCR idiotype determinant of neoplastic B cells, named “Idpeptides” (Palmieri C., Blood 2010). These Id-peptides were validated as a tool for specific targeting of B-cell malignancies with a potential role as modulators of tumor microenvironment via sIgBCR signalling. In Multiple Myeloma (MM), both mature and clonogenic tumor stem cells (clonotype B-lymphocytes, CBLs) share the same antigenic specificity, making these cells a suitable target for Id-peptides. In this regard, we have recently developed Id-peptides for tumor targeting in primary neoplastic plasma cells as well as in the 5T33MM mouse model of MM.