Targeting transcription factors in blood cancer

Many types of blood cancer, like leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma often develop because small proteins called transcription factors don’t behave as they should. These transcription factors play an important role in helping blood cancer cells to grow and survive. Researchers have found that if they can reduce the number of transcription factors that the cancers cells often die. However, current drug treatments are rarely able to target these transcription factors to treat disease.

In this pilot project, Dr Feldhahn and his team plan to use a new scientific technology to create a ‘glue’ that sticks to the transcription factors and transports them to a molecule that can break them down into smaller parts that can be reused to build other small proteins. They plan to test this new technology on a specific transcription factor called ‘ETV5’ which is responsible for causing ALL, a type of leukaemia that is extremely challenging to treat.

If successful, researchers hope this work could help in the development of a new drug to treat the disease in the future. They also hope this could help provide the basis for the development of new drug treatments produced in a similar way that could be used to treat many types of blood cancer.