Susanna Fletcher Greer, Chief Scientific Officer at the V Foundation, commented on a post she shared previously on LinkedIn:
”If you care about how new ideas in cancer research become next-generation treatments, this one is worth a read.
Dr Christina Glytsou’s work offers a new way to make stubborn leukemia cells sensitive to therapy again, and it is exactly the kind of innovation our donors make possible.”
Sharing the previous post:
”A new approach to stopping acute myeloid leukemia when it tries to come back. This week I break down a powerful discovery from the V Foundation funded scientist Dr. Christina Glytsou, who found a way to shut off the energy source leukemia cells use to survive treatment. It is hopeful, elegant science with real potential for patients.
When cancer runs out of power: a breakthrough in AML research
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a fast-moving blood cancer that often responds to treatment at first, only to return stronger. A new study funded in part by the V Foundation and our generous donors has found a way to outsmart that comeback: by targeting the cancer’s energy factories.
Inside every cell are tiny structures called mitochondria, the “power plants” that produce energy. In healthy cells, these power plants know when to shut down and let a damaged cell die. But leukemia cells learn to rewire them to stay alive, even when faced with powerful drugs like venetoclax.
V Foundation grantee Dr. Christina Glytsou and team at Rutgers University discovered that a protein called OPA1 helps leukemia cells remodel their mitochondria so they can resist treatment. By blocking OPA1 with small molecules, they were able to retrain these cancer power plants, forcing the cells to self-destruct again and restoring sensitivity to existing drugs.
What makes this discovery so exciting is how it shifts our understanding of drug resistance. It’s not just about mutations in DNA. Sometimes it’s about how cancer cells physically reshape themselves to survive.By reversing that reshaping, we may be able to make today’s medicines effective again, a huge win for patients who have run out of options.
Dr. Glytsou also found that these new OPA1-targeting drugs worked safely in early tests, sparing healthy blood cells while hitting leukemia cells hard.
It’s a promising step toward smarter, safer combination therapies for people with AML.
At the V Foundation, we’re proud to support this kind of high-risk, high-reward research, work that challenges assumptions, connects ideas across disciplines, and moves discoveries from the lab toward the clinic.
Thanks to our donors, every grant we make helps speed progress for people with cancer today and tomorrow.
Find the Glytsou lab at Christina Glytsou – Glytsou Lab and read this incredible paper at Small-molecule OPA1 inhibitors reverse mitochondrial adaptations to overcome therapy resistance in acute myeloid leukemia | Science Advances.”
Title: Small-molecule OPA1 inhibitors reverse mitochondrial adaptations to overcome therapy resistance in acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: SOFIA LA VECCHIA, SAURAV DOSHI, PETROS ANTONOGLOU, TANIMA KUNDU, WAFA AL SANTLI, KLEOPATRA AVRAMPOU, MATTHEW T. WITKOWSKI, ANNA PELLATTIERO, FEDERICO MAGRIN, KRISTINA AMES, AMIT VERMA, KIRA GRITSMAN, XIAOYANG SU, ANDREA MATTAREI, IANNIS AIFANTIS, LUCA SCORRANO, CHRISTINA GLYTSOU
Read the Full Article.
More posts featuring Susanna Fletcher Greer on OncoDaily.
