Funded Investigators
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| Ravi Bhatia, M.D. |
| City of Hope |
Targeting the Leukemia Stem Cell in CML
Thanks to the development of new therapies, patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are living longer today than ever before. However in some patients, the drugs fail to eliminate the leukemia stem cell, the root cause of the disease.
Dr. Bhatia and his colleagues have identified an overactive epigenetic enzyme known as SIRT1 in CML stem cells. Inhibitors to the SIRT1 enzyme activity sensitizes CML stem cells toexisting treatments so that the drug Gleevec is more effective in their eradication. The researchers will conduct further tests in animal models with the intent of developing clinical trials in the future.
