Klin Padiatr 2018; 230(03): 164
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1644983
Top 1 Acute and chronic leukaemias
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Human-zebrafish xenograft platform to individualise therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients (ALL-ZeFiX)

N Olk
1   Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Pädiatrie mit Schwerpunkt Onkologie, Hämatologie und Stammzelltransplantation
,
A Gauert
1   Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Pädiatrie mit Schwerpunkt Onkologie, Hämatologie und Stammzelltransplantation
,
C Eckert
1   Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Pädiatrie mit Schwerpunkt Onkologie, Hämatologie und Stammzelltransplantation
,
A Heeren-Hagemann
1   Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Pädiatrie mit Schwerpunkt Onkologie, Hämatologie und Stammzelltransplantation
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
08 May 2018 (online)

 

Introduction:

Children and adolescents with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) have a poor prognosis with an overall survival of only 50%. In colaboration with Dr. PD Cornelia Eckert, head of the ALL-REZ BFM/IntReALL biobank, we are about to establish a human-zebrafish xenograft platform for drug screening at the Pediatric Oncology Department of the Charité, Campus Virchow Clinic, Berlin. An alternative proliferation of leukaemia cells from bone marrow biopsies in vitro is difficult and almost impossible to date and amplification in xenograft mouse models takes too long for clinical application.

Method:

To optimise individual treatment response prediction in children with ALL, we transplant human leukaemia cells from bone marrow biopsy into tiny zebrafish embryos. After differential drug treatment the proliferation rate is assessed via flow cytometry.

Results:

We are already able to cultivate patient material in zebrafish embryos successfully and are about to optimise the drug treatment protocol with the standard induction therapy for relapse patients.

Conclusion:

ALL-ZeFiX aims to evaluate human-zebrafish avatars for predicting individual patient response to induction treatment at the start of relapse therapy and allow necessary treatment adaptation for paediatric ALL patients within one week of leukaemic cell biopsy.