Deciphering the impact of leukaemia

Nuno Rodrigues dos Santos

Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, Portugal

Leukaemia is the most common cancer in children under 14 years of age. There are various forms of this tumour; T-cell leukaemia affects between 20 and 35 children per million of the population. Thanks to current treatments, the remission rate is 80 % in children and 50 % in adults. However, these survivors often go on to develop immune disorders later in life.

As more and more people are surviving leukaemia, it is crucial to understand how, when and why immune system-mediated diseases develop as a result of the original leukaemic disease. Recent studies suggest this is due to the impact of leukaemia on the bone marrow and the thymus, the organs where B and T lymphocytes, two types of immune cells, are formed.

This project will use genetically modified mouse models that replicate the development, treatment and remission of T-cell leukaemia. The aim is to understand how leukaemia cells impact the regeneration, maintenance and function of the immune system during the disease and after its remission. Beyond the known toxic effects of chemotherapy treatments, it is essential to distinguish between the direct effects of leukaemia and those caused by chemotherapy. The project seeks to define the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune dysfunctions mediated by leukaemia, which will pave the way for designing new therapies targeting the immune system, thereby improving the quality of life for survivors.

• Maria Luisa Toribio, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CBMSO-CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain

• Georg Holländer, University of Oxford, UK

Deciphering the impact of Leukaemia on Immunological Fitness beyond disease

€981,307.27

*Project awarded in collaboration with the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnología