Transgenic mice may shed further light on how fatal leukemia develops in humans
Significant progress has been made by UCD researchers into the study of a fatal form of leukemia, Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATLL). Research carried out by Professor William Hall, Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory and professor in the UCD School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, has resulted in the development of a working model of the disease that may enable researchers to unravel the steps that cause ATLL and other leukemias.
Professor William Hall
While approximately 20 million people worldwide are infected with the virus, between 2 and 5 per cent will get ATLL. ATLL generally occurs in individuals around the time of birth but does not present for between 20 and 60 years, "a latency period that makes studying its development extremely difficult", says Professor Hall. It is known though, that the development of ATLL is linked to a protein called Tax, which can turn normal T-cells into cancerous cells.
