Leukemic Cells Find Safe Haven in Bone Marrow MEMPHIS, Tenn.,
March 22, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- The cancer drug asparaginase
fails to help cure some children with acute lymphoblastic
leukemia (ALL) because molecules released by certain cells in
the bone marrow counteract the effect of that drug, according to
investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The
researchers showed that mesenchymal cells in the bone marrow
create a protective niche for leukemic cells by releasing large
amounts of asparagine, an amino acid that nearby leukemic cells
must have to survive but do not make efficiently. This extra
supply of asparagine helps leukemic cells survive treatment with
asparaginase, a drug that normally would deplete their supply of
this vital nutrient. "Leukemic cells that resist asparaginase
and survive in this protective niche of the bone marrow might be
the reason that leukemia recurs in some children who have been
treated with this drug," said Dario Campana, M.D., Ph.D., a
member of the Oncology and