This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A previously unrecognized weakness in the immune defenses against certain blood neoplasms could offer a promising target for future treatments. Researchers have discovered that natural killer cells, which normally help the body eliminate malignant cells, remain remarkably active in patients with a particular genetic form of blood neoplasms.
However, their ability to fight the disease appears to be restricted by an inhibitory molecular signal. Blocking this signal restored immune activity against diseased cells in laboratory experiments and showed encouraging effects in an experimental disease model. These findings, obtained by an international research team led by Karl Landsteiner University (klu Krems), suggest a new approach to treating patients with specific forms of chronic blood disorders.
They could also help identify those most likely to benefit from future immunotherapy. The study is published in the journal Leukemia. Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are chronic blood disorders characterized by excessive blood cell production.
Depending on the subtype, patients may develop dangerous blood clots, bone marrow scarring or even progress to acute myeloid leukemia. Existing treatments can control symptoms and complications but rarely eliminate the disease. Genetic mutations differ between MPN patients and may affect treatment responses.
One such mutation affects a protein called calreticulin (CALR). Although immune function is known to be impaired in MPNs, little was understood about how this mutation affects the body's natural defenses. Researchers from the Department of Pharmacology at klu Krems therefore investigated whether these differences could offer opportunities for more selective treatments.
"Natural killer cells are among the body's first lines of defense against cancer," explains Dr. Dagmar Stoiber-Sakaguchi, head of the Department of Pharmacology at klu Krems, who led the study. "What makes our findings particularly interesting is that these cells retain much of their ability to attack malignant cells in patients with CALR mutations.
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