The interest of aldehyde dehydrogenase positive cells in the evolution of multiple myeloma (FWOKN234)

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of plasma cells which accumulate in the bone marrow. The treatment of MM patients consists of chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. Despite improvements in treatment, MM is still an incurable malignancy where most of the patients will relapse and die of therapy-refractory disease. One hypothesis is that the tumor consists of a mix of tumor cell populations with different sensitivities to drugs and the resistant tumor cell population is able to initiate disease again. This hypothesis is part of the cancer stem cell model which suggests the existence of a small population of cancer cells that drives tumor growth and formation and is called the cancer stem cell or tumor-initiating cell. On the basis of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity, normal and cancer stem and progenitor cells could be identified and isolated. The aim of this project is to discriminate an ALDH+ population of tumor cells in the 5T33MM mouse model and human MM cell lines and to investigate the role of this ALDH+ population in MM disease with emphasis on clonogenicity, tumorigenicity, drug sensitivity, bone marrow interactions, migration and invasion and stem cell properties. These investigations will lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of MM.

Keywords:Stem Cell, Blood, Coagulation, Myeloma, Immunology, Microbiology, HLA, Hematology, Lymphoma, cancer, Bone Marrow Transplantation

Disciplines:Basic sciences, Biological sciences