Human acute leukemia stem cells v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The characterisation of human patient acute leukaemia stem cells and their progeny using in vivo xenograft models
IRAS ID
157637
Contact name
Eric So
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Kings College London
Research summary
Acute leukemia is a form of blood cancer characterized by the rapid growth of different white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells. Depending on the nature of these white blood cells which can be classified into myeloid or lymphoid lineage, acute leukemia can further be sub-classified into acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). In both AML and ALL most leukemic cells carry genetic abnormalities such as chromosomal translocations in which genetic information of one chromosome is combined with that of another. The resultant novel fusion gene is not only the initial event but also causal to the disease which in many cases has a very poor prognosis. In order to be able to develop novel effective therapeutic strategies, we will investigate the mechanism of these fusion genes and mutations in human leukemogenesis using freshly isolated human patient AML and ALL cells with certain genetic abnormalities. By carrying out extensive molecular and cellular analyses on these cells, it will not only allow us to gain unique insights into the biology of the disease but also help to identify novel targets that may result in new therapeutic strategies.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/1264
Date of REC Opinion
18 Sep 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion