Does sphingosine kinase 1 contribute towards bone marrow mediated chemotherapy resistance in acute myeloid leukaemia?

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) is one of the most common adult blood cancers. Survival rates have remained low, with drug resistance (chemoresistance) playing a major role. Chemoresistance can occur through cross-talk between AML cells and bone marrow dwelling cells, including fibroblasts. This project will investigate the effect of growing AML cells with fibroblast secreted factors on the levels of a protein known to induce cell survival: sphingosine kinase 1 (SK1). As elevated SK1 levels in AML lead to chemoresistance, this study will lead to a better understanding of chemoresistance in AML.