In vivo modulation of the stem cell programme of cancer stem cells in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

儿童急性淋巴细胞白血病癌症干细胞干细胞程序的体内调节

• 批准号: G0802259/1
• 负责人: Simon Bomken
• 金额: $ 30.16万
• 依托单位: Newcastle University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2009 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=G0802259%2F1
• 关键词: vivo; modulation; stem; cell; programme

A number of cancers are thought to be maintained by a rare population of stem cells which are able to evade current therapies. These cancer stem cells are able to divide an infinite number of times, as well as being able to develop into each of the different cells within a tumour. This means that if they are not completely removed by initial treatment, they are able to initiate relapse of the cancer. Unlike many tumours, we have shown that in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, cancer cells at different stages of development are able to behave as stem cells. The aim of this fellowship is to investigate the genetic programme which allows these leukaemic cells to cause relapse.The gene PIWIL2 is known to be important in testicular stem cells, which form sperm. PIWIL2 has also been found in a number of cancers, including childhood leukaemia. By both preventing and forcing leukaemic cells to make PIWIL2, we can assess the effects of this gene on those cells‘ ability to cause disease relapse. We will look at the genetic pathways associated with PIWIL2 to identify additional important genes which may, in future, provide targets against which new drugs can be developed.

许多癌症被认为是由能够逃避当前治疗的稀有干细胞群维持的。这些癌症干细胞能够无限次分裂，并且能够发育成肿瘤内的每种不同细胞。这意味着，如果初始治疗没有完全去除它们，它们就可能引发癌症复发。与许多肿瘤不同，我们已经证明，在儿童急性淋巴细胞白血病中，处于不同发育阶段的癌细胞能够表现出干细胞的行为。该奖学金的目的是研究导致这些白血病细胞复发的遗传程序。众所周知，PIWIL2 基因在形成精子的睾丸干细胞中非常重要。 PIWIL2 也在多种癌症中被发现，包括儿童白血病。通过阻止和强迫白血病细胞产生 PIWIL2，我们可以评估该基因对这些细胞导致疾病复发的能力的影响。我们将研究与 PIWIL2 相关的遗传途径，以确定其他重要基因，这些基因可能在未来提供新药开发的靶点。