The study was conducted by primary authors Mathieu Tremblay, Ph.D. student and C-drica Tremblay, post-doctoral fellow in the Haematopoiesis and Leukaemia Laboratory at the Universit- de Montr-al and led by corresponding author and IRIC Principal Investigator, Trang Hoang.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most frequent childhood cancers and affects lymphocytes, the cells in the body that normally fight infections. ALL starts when a single, immature white blood cell called a "blast" develops a series of mistakes or mutations that allow it to multiply uncontrollably. Eventually, these leukaemia blasts take over the lymphoid organs, the bone marrow and crowd out normal blood cells.
While extensive research has been conducted over the years to understand this type of cancer, deciphering the complex process responsible for transforming normal cells into cancerous cells remains a challenge. In this study, researchers started from the well-known basis that the interaction between two genes, SCL and LMO, is involved at the onset of a specific type of ALL, called T-cell leukaemia.
"We wanted to uncover the precise mechanism behind the process that causes a normal cell to become cancerous. Our study reveals that SCL and LMO expand the pool of immature lymphocytes, which proliferate intensively under the influence of a specific signal. These SCL-LMO-primed cells then acquire mutations in a third gene, Notch1, which is known to play a role in the majority of T-ALL patients," explains Trang Hoang. "In short, the synergy between these three genes in a permissive cell is sufficient to induce leukaemia."
Although chemotherapy can cure up to 80% of ALL in children, researchers hope to minimize the side effects by designing new therapies that specifically target cancer-causing genes. "The knowledge from our study could be instrumental in the development of less invasive cancer therapies," adds Dr. Hoang.
Source: University of Montreal
