Göran Karlsson

Project summary

Diseased leukaemia stem cells and healthy blood stem cells. Molecular analysis of individual blood and leukaemia stem cells.

Blood cell production involves the development of a variety of cells with different functions from a small number of blood stem cells in the bone marrow. This capacity is utilised in bone marrow transplantation, where only stem cells are able to rebuild a lost blood system.

 

As in the normal blood system, a small number of leukaemia stem cells are responsible for producing all the cancer cells in leukaemia. These stem cells also self-renew, allowing this production to continue. Leukaemia stem cells are also responsible for metastasis and relapse after treatment. To cure difficult-to-treat leukaemia, it is therefore essential to eliminate leukaemia stem cells effectively and specifically. One challenge is that normal and leukaemia stem cells are very similar in appearance and difficult to distinguish and separate, despite substantial differences in their function and molecular composition.

 

The aim of the research project is to use the unique molecular composition of individual cells to identify specific cell markers for different types of blood and leukaemia stem cells. This would make it possible to separate these cells and study how they are regulated, thereby identifying factors that are important in leukaemia. Our findings are intended to pave the way for new treatments that can specifically target and eliminate leukaemia stem cells. Ultimately, this could make it possible to cure patients affected by even the most severe forms of leukaemia.