Cells Critical to Childhood Leukemia Discovered

On January 21st, Science published an article about a new cell that has been discovered. But this isn't just any old cell, this cell is said to play a critical role in a form of childhood leukemia. Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Hospital found the cell.

This cell, which is still unnamed, is believed to be a major player in causing a specific type of childhood onset Leukemia called T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or T-ALL. The cell is mainly found in the thymus.

This is a rather new discovery, and not all the details are known in terms of the part this specific cell plays in T-ALL, nor do scientists know exactly how T-ALL is caused. However, while studying mice prone to this type of leukemia, researchers discovered that this cell continued to re-emerge after radiation.

The cell functions much like a stem cell, which makes it incredibly resistant to therapy and the toxicity of the treatment. Consequently, this cell can lead to post -treatment relapses which are quite common in T-ALL.

Though researchers have not yet found a way to target this cell, they have identified one of the major players in T-ALL and in the future may be able to work towards a much more effective treatment which would not include any relapses.

Above is a microscope slide of bone marrow infected with ALL L1 leukemia, a

type of leukemia similar to the T-ALL form in children.

For those of you unfamiliar with Leukemia, the following video should

shed some light not only on the cancer but also on recent research.

-Post by hayes10