5 replies to this topic

[cousineg]

Canadian researchers find potential new leukemia treatment with old antibiotic drug

See also Cure possible for LMC 

[Tex]

There are always new potential cures.  This one sounds pretty harmless. 

I have been playing this game long enough to know that when they don't differentiate between types of leukemia in the report, we don't usually hear about them again.  But that's "usually."  I hope to hear more about this.

Thanks

[pegetha]

Tex, I followed the link, and the cells affected were AML cells.  I copied and pasted the following:

"Inhibition of Mitochondrial Translation as a Therapeutic Strategy for Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia . . .

• Highlights
• Inhibition of mitochondrial translation has antileukemia activity
• AML cells have higher mitochondrial biogenesis than normal hematopoietic cells
• Mitochondrial translation inhibition is a therapeutic strategy for AML
• Tigecycline is a potential therapeutic agent for AML therapy

Summary

To identify FDA-approved agents targeting leukemic cells, we performed a chemical screen on two human leukemic cell lines and identified the antimicrobial tigecycline. A genome-wide screen in yeast identified mitochondrial translation inhibition as the mechanism of tigecycline-mediated lethality. Tigecycline selectively killed leukemia stem and progenitor cells compared to their normal counterparts and also showed antileukemic activity in mouse models of human leukemia. ShRNA-mediated knockdown of EF-Tu mitochondrial translation factor in leukemic cells reproduced the antileukemia activity of tigecycline. These effects were derivative of mitochondrial biogenesis that, together with an increased basal oxygen consumption, proved to be enhanced in AML versus normal hematopoietic cells and were also important for their difference in tigecycline sensitivity."

[Tex]

Cool.  I did not read that in there.  But that would be cool if it works.

[Tedsey]

So, is this something else we can blame our mothers for? 

Teds

[Tex]

I dunno.  My mom was  a saint.  I tend to put all the blame on my dad.