Best Practice & Research Clinical Haematology
Volume 22, Issue 4 , Pages 483-487, December 2009

Regulating the leukaemia stem cell

  • Michael L. Cleary, MD (Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics)

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationTel.: +1 650 723 5471; Fax: +1 650 498 6222.

Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Room L235, Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Leukaemia stem cells (LSCs) are responsible for sustaining and propagating malignant disease, and, as such, are promising targets for therapy. Studies of human LSCs have served an important role in defining the major tenets of the cancer stem cell model, which centre on the frequencies of cancer stem cells, their potential hierarchical organisation and their degree of maturation. LSCs in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) have recently been studied using mouse syngeneic models of leukaemia induced by MLL oncogenes. These studies have revealed that LSCs are more analogous to progenitor cells and employ embryonic stem cell-like genetic programmes for their maintenance, prompting a refinement of the original cancer stem cell model with important implications for design of therapies to selectively target LSCs.

Keywords: acute myeloid leukaemia, cancer stem cells, embryonic stem cells, expression, leukaemic stem cells, xenotransplantation

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

PII: S1521-6926(09)00059-0

doi:10.1016/j.beha.2009.08.005

Best Practice & Research Clinical Haematology
Volume 22, Issue 4 , Pages 483-487, December 2009