The essential role of the BRG1 gene
A group of researchers at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of Universit- de Montr-al discovered a promising new approach to treating leukemia by disarming a gene that is responsible for tumor progression. That gene, known as Brg1 is a key regulator of leukemia stem cells that are the root cause of the disease, resistance to treatment and relapse.
Julie Lessard, principal investigator and her colleagues at IRIC have spent the past four years studying that gene in collaboration with another research group at Stanford University in California. The results of this study are reported this week in the prestigious scientific journal Blood.
“When we removed the Brg1 gene, the leukemia stem cells were unable to divide, survive and make new tumors. In other words, the cancer was permanently shut downâ€, Lessard says.
One difficulty with targeting cancer stem cells is that many genes essential for their function are also essential for normal stem cells, and therapies targeting them can end up harming healthy stem cells as well. “Strikingly, we showed that the Brg1 gene is dispensable for the function of normal blood stem cells, making it a promising therapeutic target in leukemia treatment†explains Pierre Thibault, principal investigator at IRIC and co-author in this study.