A team of Japanese specialists from the University of Tsukuba have identified a new mechanism for the formation of leukemia. It turned out that lipids play a special role in this. The results of the study are described in an article published in the journal Leukemia.

Cells are known to contain a variety of lipids, which are organic fatty compounds. Lipid metabolism, as well as synthesis and breakdown, are responsible for regulating the composition and function of cells and their membranes. An enzyme called ELOVL6 lengthens fatty acid chains and plays an important role in several cellular metabolic processes.

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The authors examined data obtained from online databases to prove an association between high levels of ELOVL6 and worse overall survival in leukemia. They found that the removal of ELOVL6 from bone marrow stem cells, which are responsible for the production of all types of blood cells, alters the lipid content of the cells and leads to inhibition of the engraftment process of transplanted cells. At the same time, deactivation of ELOVL6 prevented the development of leukemia in an animal model of mice.

Experts note that this indicates a link between relatively small changes in the lipid content in the cell membrane and the development of blood cancer. This discovery forms the prospect for the development of new treatments for leukemia.