Art of seduction of leukemia

Leukocytes emit an extremely attractive chemical to attract stem cells to make blood to their lair. After entering the lair of white blood cells, stem cells will quickly be re-eaten.

White blood cells in the blood.Photo: leukemia-web.org.

Leukemia (also called leukemia) is a malignant type that occurs when the white blood cells in the body suddenly increase. The cause of the disease has not been determined but may be due to environmental effects such as chemical pollution or radioactive contamination or it may be genetic. Leukocytes take on the task of protecting the body, but when the number of white blood cells increases they will lack food and are ready to "eat" red blood cells. Therefore, patients will suffer from anemia resulting in death. This is the only form of cancer that does not produce tumors.

Dr. Dorothy Sipkins of the University of Chicago Medical Center (USA) is one of the world's leading experts on blood cancer. In many previous studies, Dorothy discovered that white blood cells and some solid tumors always congregate in cavities in the bone marrow to proliferate and expand.

Hematopoietic stem cells also concentrate in numerous cavities in the bone marrow. Here they divide and form blood cells to fight inflammation, prevent blood clotting and carry oxygen throughout the body. Dorothy wanted to find out what would happen when leukocytes and hematopoietic stem cells met. She and colleagues found a way to photograph both types of cells in mice with a common form of malignant leukemia in children.

'We found white blood cells emitted chemical signals to lure stem cells to heal their lair , ' Dorothy said. The team conducted several additional tests to monitor the state of hematopoietic stem cells in the new 'home'. They found that the number of stained stem cells decreased over time. Once they reach the lair of white blood cells, they cannot escape.

Dorothy said tumors and leukocytes produce a kind of molecule they call 'stem cell factor' in very large numbers. This molecule draws the stem cells to heal the cancer cavity and holds it back. When the team used some antibiotics to prevent the production of 'stem cells', hematopoietic cells stopped moving to the lair of leukocytes and functioned normally.

"If human stem cells have a similar reaction, we will save a lot of time in finding new therapies for cancer treatment ," Dorothy said. According to the scientist, if this technique works on the human body, bone marrow transplantation for white blood patients will become easier. In addition, it allows doctors to collect and store patients' stem cells so they can use them after receiving high-dose chemotherapy.

If these scenarios do not happen, at least new technology can help the human immune system become stronger.