Combinatorial Chemistry Approaches to Develop LIgands against Leukemia Stem Cells

Various cells and organs in the human body originate from a small group of primitive cells called stem cells. Human cancer cells were also recently found to arise from a group of special stem cells, called cancer stem cells (CSCs). At present, cancer that has spread throughout the body (metastasized) is difficult to treat, and survival rates are low. One major reason for therapeutic failure is that CSCs are relatively resistant to current cancer treatments. Although most mature cancer cells are killed by treatment, resistant CSCs will survive to regenerate additional cancer cells and cause a recurrence of cancer. As opposed to other human stem cells, CSCs have their own unique molecules on their cell surface. This project aims to develop agents that specifically target the unique cell surface molecules of CSCs. These agents will have the potential to eradicate cancer from the very root, i.e., from the stem cells (CSCs) that produce mature cancer cells. In this project, we will develop agents that specifically target leukemia stem cells to determine the feasibility of our approach. Leukemia is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in males and the fifth in females. If our approach is successful, we can use the same approach for other cancer types. To develop these specific agents, we will screen a library of billions of molecules to identify those that specifically target the unique cell surface molecules of leukemia stem cells (LSCs). After we identify these specific molecules, we will optimize their structure to increase their specific binding to LSCs. Specific binding to LSCs is crucial, as the optimized molecules will be able to uniquely kill LSCs and spare normal blood cells.

Many leukemia patients need stem cell transplantation during treatment. There are two approaches to harvesting stem cells for transplantation: those harvested from patients themselves and those harvested from healthy donors. Stem cells harvested from healthy donors need to genetically match patients’ cells. Otherwise, these transplanted cells from the donor recognize the recipient’s (host or patient) cells as non-self cells and attack these cells. This response leads to a serious disease called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). It is often difficult to find matched donors. Stem cells harvested from patients are usually not used for the treatment of acute leukemia because they are contaminated with LSCs that will lead to recurrence of leukemia after transplantation. If this project is successful, the targeting agents developed in this project can be used to eliminate the contaminating LSCs and decrease the leukemia recurrence after transplantation.