Against diabetes and leukemia

Canadian researchers from McMaster University, working under the guidance of Professor Mick Bhatia, have proposed an innovative method of destroying malignant cells in acute myeloid leukemia with preservation and simultaneous stimulation of regeneration of healthy red blood cells.

The authors explain that traditional methods of treating leukemia target leukemic cells, without paying attention to the preservation of red blood cells. However, the production of healthy red blood cells in the bone marrow is critical to prevent the development of anemia and deadly infections in patients.

To date, almost half of patients with acute myeloid leukemia die from this disease. In search of a method to improve this sad statistic, the authors identified bone marrow samples from 34 "genetically heterogeneous" patients with acute myeloid leukemia. They analyzed the process of formation of patients' blood cells and compared it with the process occurring in the bone marrow of healthy people. After that, the behavior of individual cells, cell cultures, as well as bone marrow in the body of mice to which human cells were transplanted was analyzed.

Based on the observations made, the researchers found that the disease disrupts the cellular niche of adipocytes (fat cells) in the bone marrow and thereby suppresses their vital activity. This leads to a violation of the functions of stem cells and progenitor cells of erythrocytes and the cessation of maturation of the latter.

To suppress this mechanism, the authors injected mice with a drug widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus – an agonist of the gamma receptor activated by the proliferator peroxisome (PPAR-gamma). This ensured the restoration of fat cells in the bone marrow and the normal maturation of hematopoietic cells, while suppressing the growth of leukemic cells.

The authors believe that the effect they have demonstrated can be used in the complex therapy of leukemia or even completely replace traditional approaches to the treatment of this disease. They also note that the drug is already widely used in clinical practice and it will not take much time to plan its clinical trials.

Article by Allison L. Boyd et al. Acute myeloid leukaemia disrupts endogenous myelo-erythropoiesis by compromising the adipocyte bone marrow niche published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of McMaster University: Bolstering fat cells offers potential new leukemia treatment.