Blast Zone

An aggressive blood cancer, acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) occurs when abnormal developing white blood cells, known as blasts, start to multiply rapidly, filling up the bone marrow and disrupting the development of other blood cells. Pictured here are blasts (in purple) surrounded by red blood cells, from the bone marrow of a patient with Down syndrome; children with Down’s, a genetic condition caused by carrying a third copy of chromosome 21, are at much greater risk of developing AML. To understand why, researchers used gene editing tools to investigate all 218 genes on this extra chromosome. They homed in on RUNX1, which encodes a transcription factor, a protein that regulates other genes. RUNX1 can be expressed in several forms, and balance between them is key: these recent experiments suggest that AML is linked to an excess of a form called RUNX1A, opening up new avenues for research into potential treatments.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Emmanuelle Briolat

Writer

A researcher specialising in visual signals in Lepidoptera, camouflage and the effects of light pollution, Emmanuelle’s writing covers a range of topics, from biomedical research to children’s books about moth defences.

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• Image by Jan Klusmann, University Hospital Frankfurt
• Department of Pediatrics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• Image copyright held by the original authors
• Research published in Blood, March 2023