Las universidades de Navarra y Oxford ofrece nuevas pistas sobre el origen de la mielodisplasia y la leucemia en una investigación
The universities of Navarra and Oxford are investigating new clues to the origin of myelodysplasia and leukemia.
Patients from 19 Spanish, English, Italian, Swedish, German and Italian hospitals are participating in work, in collaboration with three other European centers.
The University of Navarra, together with the University of Oxford and three other European centers, is leading a project to discover the origin of myelodysplasia, a disease with a predisposition to evolve into leukemia.
Participating in the work are professors María José Calasanz and Marina García Delgado, from department of Genetics of the academic center; María José Larráyoz, from the Genetic Analysis Service; and Marta Fernández Mercado, a student from doctorate who is doing her research at both universities. In addition, patients from 19 hospitals in northern Spain -including the University of Navarra-, England, Italy, Sweden and Spain are analyzed. Clínica Universidad de Navarra-England, Italy, Sweden and Germany.
The goal of the study, recently published in the journal Leukemia, consists of searching for alterations at the molecular level -genetic mutations, etc.- that will allow the development of new therapeutic targets that will also provide a tool for monitoring the evolution of patients undergoing a given treatment.
Currently, according to researcher Marta Fernández Mercado, there are a wide variety of treatments for the group of ailments known as "leukemias", which are caused by different alterations. "The problem lies in the fact that we can no longer classify them solely with the systems that were based on clinical symptoms, since in some cases the patients do not show any alteration that would make this classification useful from the therapeutic point of view, but we must go into greater detail: at the molecular level," she explains.
In this regard, the future doctor explains that her group of research has confirmed that the presence of mutations in a certain gene "is associated with more severe forms of leukemia, which leads us to suspect a relationship between these mutations and progression to the most severe phase of the disease. In addition, this gene is related to the mechanisms that regulate the interaction between genes and the surrounding environment. Another finding that opens new doors to identify the disease in its early stage".
exchange of students with the University of Oxford
Within the project of partnership between the universities of Navarra and Oxford this summer will take place the exchange of some students of the School of Sciences of the academic center. Among them, Esther Recacha and Juan Rubén Ferrer, 3rd and 4th year Biology students respectively, who will spend between 6 and 8 weeks at the prestigious British university.
While Esther will collaborate in the project on leukemia, Juan Rubén will work in another group on the characterization of miRNA released by exosomes in a subject of lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system).