NCMM Associate Investigator collaboration leads to important findings on the development of acute myeloid leukemia

By fostering close collaborations with NCMM Associate Investigators, NCMM aims to promote the advancement of translational research across Norway. Associate Investigator Lorena Arranz from UiT – the Arctic University of Norway recently published a study in which access to NCMM’s facilities played an important part in its completion. 

The study by Arranz’ group, which was recently published in Nature Communications, shows how the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1rn) is important for the normal development and differentiation of blood stem cells. Their findings demonstrate that IL-1rn also protects against the development of acute myeloid leukemia. 

During the early stages of the study, construction work at Arranz’ host institution limited access to important facilities needed for them to collect critical data. Consequently, NCMM offered to host Arranz and part of her group, fostering close collaboration and allowing the development of a great part of the project for three years.

– It was a very challenging time, but NCMM was immensely supportive of our group and our research, and we are very grateful for that, says Arranz. 

NCMM Director Janna Saarela comments: – NCMM highly values the collaboration with our Associate Investigators, and we were happy to be able to support Arranz and her group during these extraordinary circumstances. We congratulate Arranz and colleagues on the resulting study and look forward to continuing the collaboration in the future. 

Arranz and colleagues are now in the initial stages of planning a Phase II/III clinical trial based on their findings on IL-1rn. This project is an active collaboration with the Haapaniemi group at NCMM.

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NCMM Associate Investigators

Study published in Nature Communications