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Another interesting article from Science Daily. Check out the web site for the

entire article.

" The study, which will appear online on October 20 in the Journal of

Experimental Medicine, suggests that the most effective treatment for leukemia

may rely on a combination of targeted drugs, rather than a single miracle drug.

Imatinib is currently the most popular therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia

(CML). CML is a type of blood cancer that is most common among middle-aged

adults and accounts for 15-20% of all cases of adult leukemia in the western

world. Accumulation of cancer cells in the patient's blood causes infections,

anemia, and other potentially life-threatening complications.

" CML is associated with the abnormal fusion of a portion of chromosome 21 with a

cell growth-promoting enzyme called ABL, which makes the enzyme perpetually

active. Imatinib slows down the spread of cancer by blocking the enzyme's

activity. But the drug doesn't work in everyone and resistance often develops,

most likely because the drug only targets mature cells, leaving self-renewing

cancer stem cells behind. Now, Xiaoyan Jiang and a team of researchers from the

British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver and other institutions may have

discovered what protects the stem cells from imatinib.

" The team found that a protein called AHI-1, which has been found in leukemia

cells in the past, is highly expressed in CML stem cells. When Zhou and

colleagues blocked AHI-1 in cancer cells from imatinib-resistant CML patients,

they restored the ability of the drug to kill the cells. The next step, says

Jiang is finding a drug that blocks AHI-1, which could potentially be given in

combination with imatinib in the future.

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Adapted from materials provided by Rockefeller University Press, via

EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081020093402.htm

FYI,

Lottie Duthu