A compound made from an omega-3 fatty acid (EPA — eicosapentaenoic acid) found in fish oil, appears to target leukemia stem cells, say Penn State researchers, and to completely wipe out leukemia in mice. The compound — delta-12-protaglandin J3, or D12-PGJ3 — targeted and killed the stem cells of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in mice, and may lead to a human cure for CML, says Sandeep Prabhu, associate professor of immunology and molecular toxicology in the Department of Veterinary and Medical Sciences.
The study, which was published in the current issue of Blood, said the compound kills cancer-causing stem cells in the mice's spleen and bone marrow by activating a gene — p53 — in the leukemia stem cells that causes the cell to self-destruct.
Killing stems cells is crucial in conquering cancer because stem cells divide and produce more cancer cells as well as create more stem cells, says Prabhu.
In the Penn State research, scientists injected mice with 600 nanograms of D12-PGJ3 each day for a week. Tests showed that the mice were completely cured of the disease — their blood counts were normal and their spleens returned to normal size. In addition, they did not relapse.
CML, also called chronic myelogenous leukemia, is a cancer that causes an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells. About 100,000 Americans have the disease, and according to the American Cancer Society, the average age of diagnosis is 65.
Current therapy for CMS involves extending patients' lives by keeping the number of leukemia cells low, but drugs don't cure the disease because they don't target the stem cells, says Robert Paulson, who co-directed the research with Prabhu and is an associate professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences at Penn State.
"The patients must take the drugs continuously," Paulson said. "If they stop, the disease relapses because the leukemia stem cells are resistant to the drugs. These stem cells can hide from the treatment, and a small population of stem cells gives rise to more leukemia cells," said Paulson. "So, targeting the stem cells is essential if you want to cure leukemia."
In previous experiments, the compound also killed the stem cells of Friend Virus-induced leukemia, an experimental model for human leukemia.
"The important thing is that the mice were completely cured of leukemia with no relapse," said Prabhu.
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