Northwestern Events Calendar

Jan
25
2018

BMG Seminar: Focus on Transcriptional Dysregulation in Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Acute Myeloid Leukemia - Ulrich Steidl, MD, PhD

When: Thursday, January 25, 2018
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CT

Where: Robert H Lurie Medical Research Center, Baldwin Auditorium, 303 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611 map it

Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students

Contact: Beverly Kirk   (312) 503-5217

Group: Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics Seminar Series

Category: Lectures & Meetings

Description:

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Departmental Seminar Series presents:

Ulrich Steidl, MD, PhD
Departments of Cell Biology and Medicine (Oncology)
Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, NY

Relapse continues to be the most common cause of death in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and many other cancers. Recent evidence has shown that the accumulation of stepwise genetic and epigenetic changes in tissue-specific stem cells lead to the formation of pre-cancerous/pre-leukemic stem cells (pre-LSC) that play a pivotal role not only in disease origination but also in relapse. While the existence and essentiality of such pre-cancerous cell states has been demonstrated in mice and humans, still very little is known about the molecular mechanisms driving pre-LSC formation and progression. We have recently performed molecular studies of pre-leukemic cell states in mouse genetic models as well as primary cells from patients, and discovered new mechanisms of transcriptional dysregulation in pre-LSC in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and AML. We also found that enhancer haplodeficiency and resulting minimal reduction of key transcription factors is sufficient to induce pre-LSC formation and subsequent progression to MDS and AML. Such models provide novel tools for mechanistic study of pre-LSC and their progression to overt MDS and AML, and for the development and testing of pharmacological approaches to therapeutically interfere with these processes. In summary, recent studies have started to shed light on pre-cancerous stem cell states as the earliest origin of various malignancies including MDS and AML, as well as molecular mechanisms driving their formation and progression. These advances provide a basis for the specific therapeutic targeting of pre-cancerous stem cells for the causative treatment of MDS and AML and other cancers.

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