Our next seminar will be held by Philipp Jost, professor in the Division of Oncology at the Medical University of Graz. His research group "Molecular Oncology" is studying cell death mechanisms and their regulation in tumor cell initiation, tumor maintenance and resistance mechanisms as well as their relevance for clinical translation.
Who: Prof. Philipp Jost, MD, Medical University of Graz / Technical University of Munich
When: Tuesday, 19 December 2023 at 1 pm
Where: CIO, building 70, seminar room 3, ground floor
Topic: "Connecting inflammation and cell death with cellular differentiation in myeloid leukemia"
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by frequent relapse, which is driven by resistant leukemic stem cells (LSC), highlighting the necessity to target the malignant stem-cell pool for disease control. However, current treatment concepts largely fail to provide lasting remissions either due to lack in efficacy in eradicating the malignant clone or due to systemic side effects preventing sufficient dosing in frail patients. Here we show that TNF family members eradicate leukemia propagating stem/progenitor cells (LSC) effectively preventing disease recurrence. TNF family members eliminate the pool of LSC by inducing cell death in a subset of LSC while potently driving cellular differentiation along the myeloid lineage in the remaining LSC. TNF family members act in a paracrine/autocrine fashion on the malignant progenitor compartment without amplification via the bone marrow stroma. Our results demonstrate that exposure of leukemia propagating cells with TNF family members may represent an intriguing therapeutic opportunity in AML for efficient disease eradication.
