Short background:
-driver mutations JAK2, CALR or MPL in 90%
-in concert with epigenetics (eg ASXL1, DNMT3A, SRSF2...)
-aberrant megakaryocytes as quintessence->reduced GATA1 protein expression and plethora of pro-inflammatory cytokines & extra-cellular matrix components 1/15
Now let's go to #ASH22 abstracts covering the following entities of myelofibrosis biology:
D - driver mutations
O - other mutations
C - cell interaction
I - inflammation
JAK2 #ASH22:
-conditionally inducible 🐭model for activation+deletion of Jak2VF from endogenous locus in a Dre-rox/Cre-lox recombinase system
-Jak2VF deletion->depletion of HSC
-mutant-selective inhibition offers greater potential than current JAKi ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 4/15
JAK2/RAS #ASH22:
-RAS mutations: no impact in JAKi naive & worse outcome in JAKi treated patients
-selection of RAS mutations upon JAKi exposure, negatively impacting clinical outcomes
->paradoxical oncogenic mechanism highlights complexity in #mpnsmash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 5/15
JAK2/SRSF2 #ASH22:
-Srsf2 P95H impairs erythropoiesis in the bone marrow and spleen at multiple differentiation levels (mostly stages II and III)
->phenotypic differences between JAK2-mutant MPN ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 6/15
Short background to CALR:
-in endoplasmic reticulum (ER)->key component ensuring proper glycoprotein folding & calcium homeostasis
-type 1 (52-bp deletion; c.1092_1143del) & type 2 (5-bp insertion; c.1154_1155insTTGTC) account for >1/2 and ~1/3 of all mutated CALR cases 7/15
CALR #ASH22:
-CALRins5 (type 2) proteins lose chaperone ability & exhibit dominant negative effect over CALR wild-type chaperone function
-tauroursodeoxycholic acid restores ER chaperone capacity->potential therapeutic target ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 8/15
Other mutations...
HDM2/PPM1D #ASH22:
-key negative regulators of TP53 pathway
- PPM1Di sensitizes MF HSPCs to an HDM2i
->dual targeting has potential to further deplete multiple myelofibrosis HSC clones while allowing persistence of wild-type cells ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 9/15
Cell interaction.
Mesenchymal cells (MSC) #ASH22:
-comprehensive characterization
-gene not previously linked to fibrosis, HOXB7, identified among highly deregulated genes->most relevant HOXB gene ~ with osteoblast differentiation
-novel axis ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 10/15
Blast-phase #ASH22:
-surfaceome of transformed MPN
-increased EGFR signaling and altered lipid metabolism
-proof-of-principle for CALR and C3AR1 CAR-T cells
->more in vivo needed ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 11/15
Metaphyseal stromal cells:
-active bone remodeling co-occurring with fibrotic transformation with skewing of stromal-cell fate towards osteogenesis (WNT activation)
->differences of metaphyseal and diaphyseal macro-niches within bone ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 12/15
Inflammation #ASH22:
-roadmap of cellular & molecular landscape of normal vs MF bone marrow
-eosinophil-basophil-mast cells & inflammatory fibroblasts as mediators of the inflammatory microenvironment
-galectin-1 as a novel biomarker ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 13/15
In conclusion, the molecular landscape and its interplay is much more complex than just driver mutations and some others dictating the game. And we only begin to see a glimpse of what the MF microenvironment is affected by. Exciting times in #mpnsm! 14/15
As a new medical student 10 years ago, I often asked myself:
What makes a good doctor and researcher?
After all these years, I’m amazed by how this still remains true in my heart today.
Here’s what I thought🧵
LEARN THE BASICS WELL
Medicine is like a building: your foundation matters. Don’t rush to memorize rare diseases before you’ve mastered anatomy, physiology, and pathology. Know your basics inside out.
BE CURIOUS, NOT JUST STUDIOUS
Don’t just learn for exams. Ask yourself:
Why does this happen?
How can I explain it to someone else?
Curiosity turns a good student into a lifelong learner.
Here's a thread on selected clinical studies we've seen this year🧵🩸
Asciminib in Newly Diagnosed Chronic Myeloid Leukemia @NEJM
- asciminib showed superior efficacy and a favorable safety profile in patients with newly diagnosed chronic-phase CML
- BUT comparison with second-generation TKIs was not a primary objective!
Blinatumomab in Standard-Risk B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children @NEJM
- 3-year DFS was 96% with blinatumomab and chemotherapy and 88% with chemotherapy alone
- Cytokine release syndrome, seizures, and sepsis of grade 3 or higher were rare
Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy might revolutionize the management and our understanding of autoimmune diseases
An short educational thread🧵on current status and future directions
Intro:
- CAR T therapy was originally designed to fight cancer
- now showed transformative potential in treating autoimmune diseases by targeting B cells
👉key role in disease (progression)
- safety remains focus, with a milder toxicity profile emerging in autoimmune disease
B cells?
- arise in bone marrow and go to periphery
- differentiate into antibody-secreting plasma cell populations
👉short-lived plasmablasts + long-lived plasma cells
👉reside in bone marrow
- CD19, CD20, CD38, BCMA expressed at various stages
👉enable identification
The h-index is one of the most impactful and widely used metrics to assess a researcher’s productivity and citation impact.
How it started & how it's going
A thread🧵
History:
- 2005 by physicist Jorge E. Hirsch
- assess researcher’s productivity and citation impact
- argued that total citations are skewed by few highly cited papers
👉publication counts don’t account for influence of research
We will discuss later the "dilemma of quality"...
What's the h index?
- largest number h such that h articles have at least h citations each
👉if an author has 5 publications with 9, 7, 6, 2, 1 citations
👉h-index=3
👉3 publications with 3 or more citations
BUT
the author does not have 4 publications with >3 citations❗️
Elsevier is one of the largest, most hated and most influential academic publishing companies in the world.
How it started & how it's going
A thread🧵
Founding:
- 1580, family named Elzevir, led by Lodewijk Elzevir, founded original publishing house in Leiden🇳🇱
- family's printer's mark
👉tree entwined with a vine & the words Non Solus
👉Latin for "not alone"
👉symbiosis between publisher & scholar
We will see the irony later!
Early scoops:
- Elzevir was famed for its high-quality, small-format editions of scholarly works in 17th century
- famous publication of "Observationes Medicae", first illustration of chimpanzee
- notable other publications included works by Galileo Galilei and René Descartes
Today is World Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Day #WCMLD24
Time to educate, reflect and celebrate what has been achieved
A short educational thread on CML
Intro to CML:
-BCR-ABL1-positive
-classified as a myeloproliferative neoplasm
-predominantly composed of proliferating granulocytes and determined to have the Philadelphia chromosome/translocation t(9;22)(q34;q11.2)
-affects peripheral blood + bone marrow
Pathophysiology:
-fusion oncoprotein BCR-ABL1 defines CML
-90-95% have a shortened chromosome 22
👉reciprocal translocation t(9;22) (q34;q11.2)
👉Philadelphia chromosome
-oncoprotein acts as constitutively expressed defective tyrosine kinaseö