Leukemia promotes premature aging of bone marrow

Leukemia promotes premature aging of healthy bone marrow cells – according to a new study from the University of East Anglia.

Results published today in the journal Some blood show that healthy cells in the bone marrow have been prematurely aged by the surrounding cancer cells.

It is well known that aging promotes the development of cancer. But this is the first time the opposite has been shown.

Importantly, older bone marrow cells have accelerated the growth and development of leukemia – creating a vicious cycle that fuels the disease.

The research was conducted by Dr. Stuart Rushworth of the Norwich School of Medicine at UEA, in collaboration with the Earlham Institute, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (UK) and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. California. It was funded by the Rosetrees Trust and the Big C Charity of Norfolk.

The study also identified the mechanism by which this process of premature aging occurs in the bone marrow of leukemia patients and has highlighted the potential impact that this could have on future treatments.

Dr. Rushworth said: "Our results show that cancer is responsible for aging, and we have clearly shown that the cancer cell itself induces the aging process of neighboring non-cancer cells.

"Our research reveals that leukemia uses this biological phenomenon to its advantage to speed up the disease."

NOX2, an enzyme generally implicated in the body's response to infection, has been found to be present in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells – which is responsible for creating aging conditions.

The research team has determined that the NOX2 enzyme generates superoxide that drives the aging process.

By inhibiting NOX2, researchers have shown that reducing the number of older, non-malignant, elderly cells results in slower cancer growth.

Dr. Rushworth said: "It was not known before that leukemia induced the aging of the local non-cancerous environment, and we hope that this biological function can be exploited in the future, paving the way for new drugs. "