Acute Myeloid Leukemia comprises a heterogeneous group of severe diseases with limited treatment possibilities, especially in elderly patients. Therefore, intense research aims at identifying novel drug targets and related therapies. Mutations giving rise to the oncoprotein FLT3 ITD (Fms-like tyrosine kinase with internal tandem duplications) represent one of the important classes of driver mutations in a subset of 25 – 30 % of patients. FLT3 is a member of the class III receptor tyrosine kinases and is involved in cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation of haematopoietic progenitors of lymphoid and myeloid lineages. Targeting FLT3 mutant leukemic stem cells (LSC) is a key to efficient treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory AML.
We will carry out experiments targeting the oncogenic activity of mutant FLT3 proteins.
Figure: FLT3-mediated Signaling
Müller JP, Schmidt-Arras D. Novel Approaches to Target Mutant FLT3 Leukaemia. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Sep 29;12(10):2806.