New Research Explains Leukemia Treatment Resistance and Offers Potential Solution
Research results have revealed why the effectiveness of leukemia treatments declines over time and suggest new ways to overcome this challenge.
A research team at Rutgers university school of Medicine in the United States announced the discovery that ‘acute myeloid leukemia (AML)’ cells utilize specific proteins to evade the action of drugs. The team also confirmed that the therapeutic affect of existing drugs could be revived by using an experimental compound that inhibits this protein.
The research team focused on the observation that ‘Venetoclax’,a leukemia treatment,effectively kills cancer cells initially,but its effectiveness diminishes in most patients over time.tracing the cause,they discovered that leukemia cells cleverly avoid the drug’s action by altering the structure of mitochondria,which produce energy within the cell. Mitochondria are known as ‘energy factories’ within cells.
This structural change increases the density of folds inside the mitochondria, blocking the release of molecules that induce cell death. The research team developed an experimental drug that inhibits the protein regulating this process and administered it alongside venetoclax. This resulted in more than doubled survival time in a mouse model transplanted with human leukemia cells. Importantly, they confirmed that even cells with genetic mutations previously resistant to existing treatments responded to the combination therapy.
The inhibitor not only restored the cell death pathway but also made leukemia cells dependent on specific nutrients and vulnerable to another form of cell death. It did not affect normal blood cell production, indicating a positive signal regarding safety for future clinical trials.
The results of this study (Small-molecule OPA1 inhibitors reverse mitochondrial adaptations to overcome therapy resistance in acute myeloid leukemia) were published in the international academic journal Science Advances and highlighted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science portal ‘Eureka Alert’. science Advances
This study is noteworthy for identifying the cause of ‘drug resistance,’ a chronic problem in leukemia treatment, in changes to the internal structure of cells. Leukemia is a…