Tumor cells in some childhood leukemia block new neuron formation

Relapses in some children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are due to leukemia cells surviving by hiding in areas of the central nervous system

Research led by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) has shown that the subventricular neurogenic niche is an area of ​​the brain where tumor cells can evade chemotherapy treatment and reappear later, causing childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia ( ALL) and prevent the formation of new neurons

Although survival rates for childhood ALL have improved in recent decades, 10-15% of patients relapse despite treatment

"The subventricular neurogenic niche, one of the few places in the brain that generates new neurons during our life, is clearly a new refuge for leukemia cells," UCM Stem Cells, Immunity and ángeles Vicente, director of the cancer research group, explained

The subventricular neurogenic niche is one of the few parts of the brain that continues to generate new neurons (neurogenesis)

Studies on Human Leukemia Cell Transplantation in Mice

The paper, published in the journal Haematology, used a xenogeneic animal model: immunodeficient mice transplanted with human childhood ALL leukemia cells to reproduce the disease

The present study confirms the consequences of ALL in pediatric patients with a developing CNS

"Thus, alterations in the formation of these neurons and their subsequent incorporation in neuronal circuits in the developing brain may be partly responsible for the cognitive, sensory and motor changes observed in all survivors, previously attributed only to side effects of chemotherapy,

This study used histological and flow cytometry techniques to localize leukemic cells in the subventricular neurogenic niche and subsequently analyze the cell populations in the niche