Advances in research to prevent complications in bone marrow transplants

The bone marrow transplant is necessary for many patients with aggressive blood cancers like leukaemia. This kind of transplant have risks and often serious complications. One of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC) research line is focused on how to protect the endothelium.

Some drugs and various actions inherent to the transplant damage the endothelium and this damage may be behind early complications observed after the transplant. The Barcelona Endothelium Team (BET) of our institute works in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in endothelial damage and finding drugs that protect the endothelium and consequently, prevent these complications.

“What is going on between defibrotide and endothelial cells? Snapshots reveal the hot spots of their romance”.

This is the encouraging title of the paper published recently in the journal Blood by the IJC Barcelona Endothelium Team (BET). Defibrotide (DF) has been given authorisation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)to treat Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome, a frequent complication after the transplant of hematopoietic cells. DF has a recognised role as an endothelial protector although the precise mechanism through which it does this is not fully known. The aim of the present study is to investigate the interaction of DF with endothelial cells. The results contribute to a better understanding of the precise mechanisms by which DF acts as a therapeutic and potentially preventive agent on the endothelial damage underlying different pathological situations.

+ info HERE (in Spanish)