A new cause for the development of leukemia has been identified – the practice of healing

Discover a new cause for the development of leukemia

Researchers from Germany have discovered a new cause of leukemia (leukemia). It created a new type of experimental model that patients could use blood cancer In the future it can be dealt with more specifically.

Like the German Cancer Society on ONKO Internetportal He writes that leukemia is relatively rare compared to other types of cancer, such as the breast, colon, or lungs. About 13,700 people develop leukemia in Germany every year. Scientists at the University Hospital Tübingen have now succeeded in identifying the molecular cause of leukemia development. Your search results have been published in the journal.The stem cell of the cell“Was released.

A lifelong treatment

Severe congenital neutropenia (CN) is a syndrome of bone marrow failure before leukemia that can progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Message The clinic explained.

According to experts, this rare congenital disorder of hematopoiesis is immunodeficiency associated with a low number of granulocytes and functional defects.

Serious bacterial infections occur in sufferers early after birth. The only possible treatment is lifelong treatment with recombinant growth factors (proteins), which must be injected daily. 20 percent of patients with congenital neutropenia develop leukemia in the first decades of their lives.

Mechanism of leukemia development

The researchers led by Professor Dr. Julia Skukuwa, Dr. Benjamin Dunnman and Dr. Maxim Klimianko of the Department of Hematology, Oncology, Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the University Hospital Tübingen Medical Clinic has succeeded in breaking down the mechanism by which leukemia develops and in exploring a new treatment.

As the Head of the Reference Laboratory for Diagnosis and Research of the International Registry of Severe Chronic Neutropenia (SCNIR), Professor Skokowa was able to analyze large amounts of data from patients with rare diseases for her research project.

Due to the lack of animal models of neutropenia and the difficulty in obtaining sufficient bone marrow cells from patients, scientists developed a new type of experimental model for screening for leukemia: Using molecular methods, they returned the blood cells of people with neutropenia to the early embryonic state – to the so-called induced pluripotent stem cells. Capacity (iPS cells).

In cell cultures, researchers have used these stem cells to generate hematopoietic cells. Using a new method, genetic clipper (CRISPR / Cas9), they made the malignant leukemia cell and added the gene mutation to the iPS cells. Experts have succeeded in producing leukemia cells in cell cultures that closely resemble the primary leukemia cells of patients with neutropenia.

Drug that kills leukemia cells

The researchers also examined the effects of those genes, which are found in higher amounts in leukemia cells than in normal cells. To investigate this effect on leukemia growth, genes in stem cells generated in vitro were stopped using gene scissors.

It was discovered that stopping one protein – BAALC – causes the leukemia cells to die. By analyzing the activation of all BAALC-dependent genes, the team was able to decode the molecular mechanism of leukemia development and to identify a low molecular weight inhibitor (CMPD1) with therapeutic effects.

According to the information, this new drug kills leukemia cells without attacking the healthy blood-forming cells, and thus it can be used to treat leukemia in clinical studies. (ad)