New mouse models reflect different forms of AML more closely
Researchers selected 23 particularly stable leukaemia models from patient samples. Experiments in mice are not a treatment for people.
A study published on 5 October 2026 describes models of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer. Leukaemia cells from more than 100 patient samples were transplanted into mice with weakened immune systems. From these, the team selected 23 models that can be transplanted repeatedly, frozen and genetically modified. Some represent forms of AML for which no established cell lines exist, including changes in the IDH1 or IDH2 genes and the combination of an NPM1 mutation and FLT3-ITD.
These models preserved genetic features, gene activity and surface markers from the original samples better than commonly used cell lines. In the mice, the leukaemia responded very differently to chemotherapy depending on the model. After repeated treatment with the chemotherapy drug cytarabine for about a year, no obvious resistance appeared, but the surviving cells grew more slowly. These are observations in an animal model. They do not show which treatment will help an individual person.
Sources
- Neue Plattform mit Patienten-abgeleiteten AML-Modellen für die translationale Forschung (opens in a new tab) · Deutsches Konsortium für Translationale Krebsforschung (DKTK) · Accessed on