Commensal gut microbiota protects genetically predisposed mice against acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Trabajo presentado en el ciclo de Conferencias CIC, celebrado en modalidad virtual el 11 de febrero de 2021.The majority of childhood leukemias (precursor B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, pB-ALL) are caused by the cooperation of prenatal genetic predisposition and oncogenic events taking place after birth. Genetic predisposition is frequent in children (>1-5%), but less than 1% of genetic carriers will develop the disease. Infectious stimuli are believed to play a major role, but the critical determinants leading to oncogenesis in children are unknown. The link between infections and childhood B-precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (pB-ALL) was proposed more than 100 years ago. The first biological evidence supporting this hypothesis came up just a few years ago in genetically predisposed pB-ALL mice. pB-ALL only appeared in predisposed mice when exposed to natural infections. The leukemia arising in these mice are phenotypically and genetically similar to the human counterpart. Hence, these models are key tools to understand the aetiology of the disease. Now we are trying to understand the mechanism by which natural exposure to common infections triggers the disease