Disease Focus: Blood Cancer
Mechanisms of Hematopoietic stem cell Specification and Self-Renewal
During an individual’s lifetime, blood-forming cells in the bone marrow called hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) supply all the red and white blood cells needed to sustain life. These blood stem cells are unique because they can make an identical copy of themselves (self-renew). Disorders of the blood system can be terminal, but such diseases may […]
Mechanisms Underlying the Responses of Normal and Cancer Stem Cells to Environmental and Therapeutic Insults
Adult stem cells play an essential role in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Environmental and therapeutic insults leading to DNA damage dramatically impact stem cell functions and can lead to organ failure or cancer development. Yet little is known about the mechanisms by which adult stem cells respond to such insults by repairing their damaged […]
Derivation and Characterization of Myeloproliferative Disorder Stem Cells from Human ES Cells
Cancer is the leading cause of death for people younger than 85. High cancer mortality rates related to resistance to therapy and malignant progression underscore the need for more sensitive diagnostic techniques as well as therapies that selectively target cells responsible for cancer propagation. Compelling studies suggest that human cancer stem cells (CSC) arise from […]
Derivation and Characterization of Cancer Stem Cells from Human ES Cells
Cancer is the leading cause of death for people younger than 85 (1). High cancer mortality rates underscore the need for more sensitive diagnostic techniques as well as therapies that selectively target cells responsible for cancer propagation (1) Compelling studies suggest that human cancer stem cells (CSC) arise from aberrantly self-renewing tissue specific stem or […]
Development of Therapeutic Antibodies Targeting Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that is rapidly fatal within months if untreated. Even with aggressive treatment, including chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation, five-year overall survival rates range between 30-40%. Evidence indicates that not all cells in this cancer are the same, and that there is a […]
Development of Highly Active Anti-Leukemia Stem Cell Therapy (HALT)
Leukemias are cancers of the blood forming cells that afflict both children and adults. Many drugs have been developed to treat leukemias and related diseases. These drugs are often effective when first given, but in many cases of adult leukemia, the disease returns in a form that is not curable, causing disability and eventual death. […]
Trial of AB-205 in Adults With Lymphoma Undergoing High-Dose Therapy and Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation
Angiocrine Bioscience Inc. will use genetically engineered cells, derived from cord blood, to see if they can help alleviate or accelerate recovery from the toxic side effects of chemotherapy for people undergoing treatment for lymphoma and other aggressive cancers of the blood or lymph system.
Antiviral Cellular Therapy for Enhancing T-cell Reconstitution Before or After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (ACES)
Viral infection can lead to fatal complications in patients with weakened immune systems resulting from chemotherapy, bone marrow or cord blood transplant, and other forms of inherited or acquired disorders. A team at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles is testing the feasibility of providing these immune suppressed patients with engineered T-cells to fight these viruses. […]
Clinical Investigation of a Humanized Anti-CD47 Antibody in Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Hematologic Malignancies and Solid Tumors
A team at Stanford University is using a molecule known as an antibody to target cancer stem cells. This antibody can recognize and bind to CD47, a protein the cancer stem cells carry on their cell surface. The cancer cells use that protein to evade the component of our immune system that routinely destroys tumors. By disabling […]
Therapeutic Eradication of Cancer Stem Cells with UC-961 (Cirmtuzumab)
Cancer is a leading cause of death in California. Many cancers resist current therapies due to therapy-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs). Scientists at UCSD have discovered a protein, ROR1, that is present on the surface of CSCs, but not on normal, healthy cells. The team has developed an antibody called cirmtuzumab, that specifically targets and attaches to ROR1. […]