Targeted siRNA Delivery for Leukemia Treatment

Leukemia, also known as cancer of the blood, is a disease in which the bone marrow

and other blood-forming organs produce increased numbers of abnormal blood cells. Certain forms of

leukemia begin with a genetic accident, called gene fusions. This event fuses two genes,

KMT2A and AFF1, creating an abnormal fusion gene named KMT2A::AFF1. This fusion gene

forces immature white blood cells to multiply uncontrollably, speeding up the growth of leukemia

and increasing resistance to treatments. In a recent paper in the prestigious Advanced Healthcare

Materials journal, Nasrullah and colleagues from RJH Biosciences aimed to decrease the KMT2A::AFF1

expression using small interfering RNA, (siRNA), that bind to a matching