EphA3, a novel target for leukaemia stem cell therapy

急性髓系白血病患者通常对治疗有反应，但许多复发是由于“白血病干细胞”(LSC)，即原始白血病中为数不多的能在治疗中存活的细胞。我们专注于一种位于LSCs上的蛋白质(EphA3)，帮助它们与环境相互作用。破坏这种相互作用可能会使这些细胞对治疗变得脆弱。我们的目标是确定EphA3在LSCs上的功能，并优化目前处于临床试验中的EphA3抗体的治疗用途。

Patients with acute myeloid leukaemia often respond to therapy, but many relapse due to “leukemic stem cells” (LSC), the few cells in the original leukaemia which survive therapy. We focus on a protein (EphA3) which sits on LSCs and helps them interact with their environment. Disrupting this interaction may make these cells vulnerable to therapy. We aim to determine the function of EphA3 on LSCs and optimise the therapeutic use of an antibody against EphA3 which is currently in clinical trial.