Kurzfassung

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are diseases of the bone marrow that pose a high risk of developing an aggressive form of blood cancer known as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients with MDS have genetic mutations in the stem cells of the bone marrow, which leads to a life-threatening lack of functional blood cells. These rare cells, the so-called cancer stem cells, remain unnoticed in the bone marrow and can cause a resurgence of MDS and its transformation into aggressive leukemia....Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are diseases of the bone marrow that pose a high risk of developing an aggressive form of blood cancer known as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients with MDS have genetic mutations in the stem cells of the bone marrow, which leads to a life-threatening lack of functional blood cells. These rare cells, the so-called cancer stem cells, remain unnoticed in the bone marrow and can cause a resurgence of MDS and its transformation into aggressive leukemia. Therefore, a basic understanding of the properties of these cancer stem cells is essential for the development of more efficient therapies. Accordingly, the planned research project will investigate how MDS cancer stem cells contribute to the progression of the disease to leukemia and which genetic and metabolic changes are responsible for the current therapeutic resistance of these particular cells. To investigate these relationships, our team was able to develop an inducible MDS mouse model (GSK3 knock-out) to understand the course of the disease. In the next step, specific methods will be applied to the MDS cancer stem cells isolated and cultured in the laboratory, in order to detect the molecular changes (epigenetics) and physiological defects (metabolism). The identification of these defects will help us understand the degeneration process of the cells. In addition, we intend to use a screening to identify agents that have an inhibitory effect on the metabolic processes responsible for this degeneration. Subsequently, these findings for drug development can be used in clinical trials to successfully combat MDS cancer stem cells.» weiterlesen» einklappen