An important breakthrough: the self-correction function of genes can resist blood cancer

Blood cancer is a common malignant tumor disease in life
.

The incidence of the disease is very small, and it is more common in children and adolescents, so it is a very serious disease

Therefore, the continuous discovery of new mechanisms of blood cancer and the development of new treatment methods are of far-reaching significance
.

Recently, scientists from Johns Hopkins University in the United States conducted further research on blood cancer

Leukemia is one of the ten most malignant diseases in humans
.

As far as the morbidity and mortality of men in our country are concerned, this malignant tumor disease ranks eighth in the world, with an incidence rate of under 35 years old; the incidence of children ranks first in the world

Most patients with blood cancer and leukemia have infection and fever as their main symptoms
.

Most patients have very high white blood cells

When the virulent bacteria enter the bloodstream, they can become "septicemia", which is life-threatening
.

Because leukemia patients produce a large number of immature white blood cells in the bone marrow and the megakaryocytes that produce platelets are significantly reduced, leukemia patients may have skin and mucous membranes, bleeding from multiple tissues and organs, and severe intracranial hemorrhage may occur

Invasion of leukemia cells into other tissues can be manifested as bone pain, periosteum tumors (chriodoma), skin nodules, gum swelling, liver and spleen lymph nodes, etc.
, can also be manifested as meningeal leukemia, testicular leukemia, etc.
Most leukemia patients are accompanied by anemia , Anemia is aggravated by bleeding
.

Recently, a new study conducted by scientists at Johns Hopkins University found that the genes in the "chromosome cap" can fight gene mutations through self-correcting functions, thereby helping to fight blood cancer
.

They published an article titled "Somatic reversion impacts evolution of myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia in the short telomere disorders" in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, and published the results of this study:

 

 

Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes
.

Some rare diseases can shorten telomeres

They found that these mutations can be used as biomarkers to help them determine whether patients with short telomere syndrome are at risk for blood cancer
.

Mary Armanios, MD, director of the Telomere Center and Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University Sidney Cammore Comprehensive Cancer Center, said: “These are the most common cancers in patients with short telomere syndrome
.

We know that, to a certain extent, There are only two possibilities for the cells of patients with shortened granules: either they will become cancerous or they will remain healthy

Dr.
Armanios and her team suspect that in places where human cell turnover is high, such as bone marrow, there may be a self-correcting mechanism that can promote normal cells to become malignant cells
.

Facts have proved that the self-correction mechanism they discovered can protect cells from becoming cancerous

The researchers tested the bone marrow and blood cells of 84 patients and divided these patients into three groups: patients with short telomere syndrome, myelodysplastic syndrome, or leukemia; short telomere syndrome, without myelodysplastic syndrome or leukemia Patients; and those in the control group without short telomere syndrome or any cancer
.

Armanios and her team used ultra-deep gene sequencing (repetitive sequencing of parts of the genome to locate mutations that are difficult to find), and observed genetic mutations and self-correction of several genes related to telomeres
.
Nearly a quarter of patients with short telomere syndrome have these mutations, and some even show polygenic mutations
.

This mutation in the gene called TERT produces a key part called telomerase
.
This enzyme stabilizes telomeres in an intact form
.
Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes that protect DNA
.
By enhancing the production of telomerase and covering the ineffective copy of the TERT gene, they found that bone marrow cells seem to be able to correct themselves to avoid cancer
.

Armanios explained: "Our findings illustrate the versatility of the bone marrow and other high-replacement cell areas in the
body.
These beneficial mutations provide the body with better opportunities to protect itself
.
These findings are very useful for screening patients with shortened telomeres.
Useful
.
This process is very important so that we can predict who may not get cancer
.
"

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