Professor Jill Hows, University of Bristol

Stem cell transplantation (SCT) remains a delicate and risky process but can represent the only chance of a cure for some children with leukaemia. Transplant technology is advancing rapidly and ongoing research is improving the long-term outlook for those requiring transplants.

Under this grant Professor Hows and colleagues were studying a beneficial side-effect of SCT known as Graft vs Leukaemia (GVL) in which the grafted stem cells attack leukaemia cells remaining in the recipient’s body. GVL is now considered to be important in the cure of leukaemia after SCT.

The team were investigating the role of natural killer t-cells (NKT-cells), a recently discovered type of white blood cell that plays an important role in the body’s immune responses.

Professor Hows believed that NKT-cells have a key role in the activation of GVL. The team was studying the development of donor NKT-cells in the recipient’s bone marrow following SCT to see if they could find ways of exploiting the cell’s beneficial effects.

During the period of the grant the team established that the number of NKT-cells is higher in neonatal (cord) blood than in normal adult blood. This has important implications because cord blood (taken from umbilical cords routinely discarded after birth) is sometimes used as a source of stem cells for SCT. The fact that cord blood appears to be richer in NKT-cells means that cord blood donations may provide a better graft vs leukaemia effect than stem cells donated by adult donors.

The team also established that the number of NKT-cells in patients with leukaemia at the time of SCT is low. This may be due to prior chemotherapy received by patients earlier on in their treatment.

This work has now moved to the University of the West of England where Dr Craig Donaldson has taken over leadership of the project.

Return to Completed treatment projects