Fat cells for treating leukemia

Killing cancer cells indirectly by powering up fat cells in the bone marrow could help acute myeloid leukemia patients. Researchers discovered that boosting adipocytes, or fat cells, located in the bone morrow suppressed cancerous leukemia cells.

The production of healthy red blood cells is critical for those with acute myeloid leukemia but is sometimes overlooked as conventional treatments focus on killing the leukemia cells alone. Patients with this disease suffer from anemia and infection due to the failure of healthy blood production.

A drug used to moderate diabetes that induces fat cell production in the bone marrow was used for leukemia patients and was found to help foster red blood cell production as well as suppress leukemic disease.

The drug suppressed the cancer cells and bolstered the healthy cells, allowing them to regenerate in the new drug-induced environment. The drug activates blood regeneration and may provide benefits for those waiting for bone marrow transplants by activating their healthy cells.
        haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Blood cancer destroys bone marrow

Healthy bone marrow stromal
cells were made to transfer their power-generating mitochondria to other cancer cells, effectively feeding the acute myeloid leukaemia AML and supporting the leukaemia to grow.

AML act in a parasitic way by generating oxygen-deprived conditions in the bone marrow which stimulates the transfer of healthy mitochondria from the non-cancerous cells to the leukaemia cells.

An enzyme found in the AML cell membrane was shown to be responsible for creating the conditions necessary for mitochondrial transfer to occur. Researchers established that the enzyme called NOX-2 generated superoxide which drives this transfer.

The transfer takes place through AML-derived tunnelling nanotubes TNTs which link the cancer cells directly to the surrounding healthy cells.
Furthermore by inhibiting NOX-2, researchers showed a reduction in mitochondrial transfer took place which limited how much energy the AML cells could generate and resulted in slower cancer growth.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com