Study reveals origins of a cancer affecting the blood and bone marrow

May 12, 2011 in Cancer

A new study by the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center, sheds light on the origins of myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer that affects children and adults. The researchers discovered that novel mutations in an intracellular communication pathway called Notch led to the cancer, pointing to a potential new target for treating this disease. Notch has already been implicated in another type of blood cancer called T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but the new research found an unexpected role for it in myeloid leukemia. The study is published in the May 12, 2011 issue of the journal Nature.

"This study shows the power of the Notch signaling pathway in myeloid leukemias," says Iannis Aifantis, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Pathology at NYU Langone Medical Center and a member of the NYU Cancer Institute, who led the new study. "This discovery," he says, "suggests a potential for future targeted therapies." Dr. Aifantis is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist.

Last year, was diagnosed in more than 12,000 adults and the disease claimed nearly 9,000 lives in the United States, according to the . The is the most common type of in adults. Normally, the bone marrow makes blood stem cells (immature) that mature over time. Some of these are a form called myeloid and others are lymphoid. The lymphoid stem cell develops into a white blood cell, while the more-versatile myeloid stem cell develops into , , and platelets, which prevent clotting. Cancer occurs when too many immature myeloid stem cells are produced in the blood and bone marrow.

The Notch signaling pathway, the complex web of intracellular interactions that occurs after a protein called Notch is activated on the cell's surface, is a well known actor in cancer, but the new study reveals that the varied members of this pathway function in unexpected ways to produce disease. Notch is named for a particular kind of mutation, first identified almost 100 years ago, that gives fruit flies notched wings.

The study evaluated mutations in the Notch pathway in mice models of the disease, and also in blood samples from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. Researchers identified several mutations that inactivated or silenced the pathway, leading to the accelerated accumulation of abnormal blood cells. Most importantly, the study also revealed that the reactivation of the silenced genes in the pathway blocked the disease, providing additional support for the potentially crucial role that Notch might play in the development of cancer.

In a commentary accompanying the study in Nature, Demetrios Kalaitzidis and Scott A. Armstrong of Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston, note that the study defines a new role for Notch signaling as a suppressor of leukemia development. They note that further research is needed to understand the intricacies of Notch signaling in normal and cancerous tissue, which will help determine "the best approaches to manipulating this pathway for optimal therapauetic response."

Provided by New York University School of Medicine search and more info website

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Research identifies a way to make cancer cells more responsive to chemotherapy

Breast cancer characterized as "triple negative" carries a poor prognosis, with limited treatment options. In some cases, chemotherapy doesn't kill the cancer cells the way it's supposed to. New research from Western University ...

Cancer created 8 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Mayo Clinic genomic analysis lends insight to prostate cancer

Mayo Clinic researchers have used next generation genomic analysis to determine that some of the more aggressive prostate cancer tumors have similar genetic origins, which may help in predicting cancer progression. The findings ...

Cancer created 8 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs

Even while being dragged to its destruction inside a cell, a cancer-promoting growth factor receptor fires away, sending signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs (miRNAs) before it's dissolved, researchers ...

Cancer created 9 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Improved chemo regimen for childhood leukemia may offer high survival, no added heart toxicity

Treating pediatric leukemia patients with a liposomal formulation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy at a more intense-than-standard dose during initial treatment may result in high survival rates without causing any added ...

Cancer created 13 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Protein preps cells to survive stress of cancer growth and chemotherapy

Scientists have uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells that have just turned premalignant-cells on the cusp between normalcy and cancers-which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors.

Cancer created 13 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Controlling mood through the motions of mitochondria

(Medical Xpress)—Regulating the distribution of power in neurons is done by a system that makes the national electric grid look simple by comparison. Each neuron has several thousand mitochondria confined ...

Motion quotient: IQ predicted by ability to filter motion (w/ video)

A brief visual task can predict IQ, according to a new study. This surprisingly simple exercise measures the brain's unconscious ability to filter out visual movement. The study shows that individuals whose ...

Multiple research teams unable to confirm high-profile Alzheimer's study

Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science.

ACP issues recommendations for management of high blood glucose in hospitalized patients

High blood glucose is associated with poor outcomes in hospitalized patients, and use of intensive insulin therapy (IIT) to control hyperglycemia is a common practice in hospitals. But the recent evidence does not show a ...

Scientists discover molecule triggers sensation of itch

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as ...

Researchers find common childhood asthma unconnected to allergens or inflammation

Little is known about why asthma develops, how it constricts the airway or why response to treatments varies between patients. Now, a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University Medical Center ...