Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a major type of pediatric leukemia. T-ALL is generally thought to be developed from thymocytes. However, recent studies from our lab suggest that T-ALL could be derived from cells of myeloid origin. We recently developed an experimental model of myeloproliferative disorder (MPD) characterized as neoplasitc expansion of myeloid cells. This MPD occurs in the mice injected with hematopoietic progenitors with a constitutively activated from of MEK (active MEK) that leads to activation of the MEK/ERK pathway.

T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a childhood cancer that is treatable in many instances yet has a significant relapse rate that is difficult to cure. A common cause for T-ALL is mutation of the gene, Notch, which regulates differentiation of hematopoietic cells, promotes cell survival, and stimulates cellular metabolism of glucose. The ability of Notch to promote glucose metabolism is shared with many cancers and it has been long appreciated that cancer cells often have increased metabolism compared to their normal counterparts.