Plerixafor
Used in combination with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF, filgrastim) to mobilize hematopoietic stem cells to the peripheral blood for collection and subsequent autologous transplantation in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma (MM).
Plerixafor inhibits the CXCR4 chemokine receptors on CD34+ cells and reversibly blocks binding of the ligand, stromal cell-derived factor-1-alpha (SDF-1α). By blocking the interaction between SDF-1α and CXCR4 with plerixafor, mobilization of progenitor cells is triggered. Filgrastim, a granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, is added to enhance CD34+ cell mobilization, thus increasing the yield of stem cells- an important determinant of graft adequacy.