Scientists have accidentally discovered a possible way to deal with leukemia

Scientists from the Stanford University Medical School due to accidental observation сделали opening , which can help fight a type of leukemia. They work under the supervision of Assistant Professor, MD Madzheti Kavi, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

В-клеточный lymphoblastic leukemia - a serious disease with a very poor prognosis. It often occurs in children younger than 6 years. To a greater extent, as yet unknown reasons, it is susceptible to man. In this disease, the body produces a large number of immature lymphoid cells (лимфобластов). Under normal conditions they are produced in limited quantities and grow in normal cells - immune system cells.

Institute student Scott Makklilan watching these cells, found that some of them converted to макрофаги - cells that help in the immune system. Madzheti found out about it, remembered a recent study in mice in which the same cancer cells are able to transform into macrophages using a protein that binds to a specific sequence of DNA.

Applying this method to human cells, researchers have achieved the same result. Moreover, there is reason to believe that as growing out of lymphoblasts macrophages carry chemical information about the "bad" cells, it may help the immune system to actively fight them.

The next step will be to find a drug that will contribute to a similar process in vivo. The search will be carried out not in a vacuum - in medicine for use therapy using retinoic acid , which turns leukemic cells in гранулоциты.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/247470/