i3S researcher acknowledged with fellowship

The i3S researcher Delfim Duarte, that is also lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine of UP, and Hematology intern at IPO-Porto, won the D. Manuel de Mello fellowship, worth 50 thousand euros, with work that aims to analyze the role of CD18 protein in the reappearance of acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a very aggressive disease with limited therapeutic options. One of the major problems of this disease is resistance to chemotherapy and the difficult elimination of "minimal residual disease" which translates into a high risk of relapse or reappearance. The resistance of this disease occurs because the malignant cells that reside in the marrow of a patient with AML create their own ecosystem and proliferate thanks to the interaction with neighboring cells lodged in the blood vessels. Previous investigations confirm that this interaction is promoted by several proteins. The now award-winning research will explore whether the CD18 protein is involved in this process.

According to the researcher Delfim Duarte, "the fact that bone marrow blood vessels, when exposed to inflammatory stimuli, increase the expression of CD18 protein leads us to believe that this protein may promote the connection between the inflamed microenvironment and the cells of leukemia, thus favoring the appearance of signs that allow resistance to chemotherapy and the reappearance of leukemia".

Confirming the role of this protein in the proliferation of malignant cells it will be possible to apply new therapeutic options, namely inhibitors of CD18, to enhance the effects of chemotherapy and therefore to reduce the risk of recurrence in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

In addition to investigating the role of CD18 protein in the reappearance of acute myeloid leukemia the research, which will take place over the next two years, aims to understand the percentage of patients who express it. "We already have some data that suggest that in some subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia its expression is increased. We want to see if it's just these subtypes or if it's all types", explains Delfim Duarte.

The D. Manuel de Mello Fellowship is awarded annually by the Amélia de Mello Foundation and José de Mello Saúde with the purpose of contributing to the research and progress of Health Sciences, and is intended to reward young physicians up to the age of 40 to develop clinical research projects within the scope of the Research and Development Units of Portuguese medical schools.

The researcher Delfim Duarte was also recently distinguished by the European Society of Hematology with a prize of 160 thousand euros. The winning project aims to explore the role of iron in acute myeloid leukemia, develop new therapies and raise the quality of life of these cancer patients. At the beginning of the year the researcher received an honorable mention awarded by the Rui Osório de Castro/Millennium BCP jury for his project on “The role of inflammation in the microenvironment of acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia”, carried out in collaboration with researchers from Imperial College London and the WEHI Institute (Melbourne).