Internist-hematologist Professor Marc Raaijmakers has been awarded nearly € 400,000 by the KWF for his study on acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
In patients with AML, the normal formation of blood is suppressed. As a result, they suffer from conditions such as anemia due to a shortage of red blood cells, bleeding due to a shortage of platelets, and infections because white blood cells do not function properly.
Traditionally, it has been thought that this suppression results from the ‘crowding out’ of normal blood-forming (stem) cells by leukemia cells. However, Raaijmakers’ laboratory recently discovered that normal blood-forming stem cells form a heterogeneous population, with both resting and actively dividing fractions. Raaijmakers says, ‘Our data revealed that in patients with AML, there is a block in the transition from these normal resting to actively dividing blood-forming stem cells. That could be a possible explanation for the failure of normal blood formation.’
With the KWF subsidy, Raaijmakers will further investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms. ‘The outcomes could form the basis of conceptually innovative treatment options for AML. Treatment would then focus on preserving normal bone marrow function as a counterbalance to the expansion of leukemia cells.’
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