Identified a new cell migration mechanism used by leukemia cells

A work led by the group of Dr. Javier Redondo Muñoz at the Margarita Salas Center for Biological Research (CIB-CSIC) and published in the journal Oncogene, presents a new molecular mechanism used by acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells to invade tissues and move through the body.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common childhood cancer in the world and, within these leukemias, the T-type tend to have a worse prognosis. The study, carried out in collaboration with a group from the Niño Jesús University Hospital, shows how the chemokine CXCL12, a molecule involved in the migration of lymphocytes and tumor cells, produces critical changes in the nucleus of these leukemia cells that are necessary for the progression of metastasis in this cancer.

Madrazo et al. describe the mechanism by which CXCL12 promotes a change in the genetic material of tumor cells, which favors their invasiveness. Additionally, they show that blocking this change in chromatin reduces the invasiveness of tumor cells in animal models. In addition to its functional role, Dr. Redondo's team delved into the genetic and biomechanical consequences that the chemokine CXCL12 promotes in this type of leukemia cells, using massive sequencing protocols and optimized biophysical techniques that allow analyzing the capacity of the nuclei of leukemia cells to deform and respond to mechanical stimuli.

The results obtained in this work open a new way to study the cell nucleus and its potential use as a therapeutic target against tumor invasion.

This research has been funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the BBVA Foundation, Gilead Bioscience, and the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC).

Reference: Fast H3K9 methylation promoted by CXCL12 contributes to nuclear changes and invasiveness of T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. Elena Madrazo, Raquel González-Novo, Cándido Ortiz-Placín, Mario García de Lacoba, África González-Murillo, Manuel Ramírez & Javier Redondo-Muñoz (2022) Oncogene. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-02168-8

More information (in Spanish)

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