Working to Address Unmet Medical Needs in MPNs

In his research into myeloproliferative neoplasms, or MPNs, John Crispino is focused on a couple of key areas when it comes to understanding the underlying biology of the disease, as he explained in an interview with CURE.

Crispino is the director of the division of experimental hematology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where he is also the Wall Street Committee Endowed Chair and principal investigator of the Crispino Lab. The Crispino Lab, according to its website, is focused primarily on myeloid cells, centered on the mechanisms of normal and abnormal cell development.

“There are two major areas that we study,” Crispino told CURE. “The first is the biology of megakaryocytes. Those are the cells that make platelets. … The second major area of research is on leukemic progression. So I would say that that progression to acute leukemia is really terrible outcome for patients, and we have very few therapies for patients that do advance at that stage. So our research in the past few years has focused on understanding the mechanism."

Crispino sat down recently with CURE to discuss his research.

Transcript:

There are two major areas that we study. The first is the biology of megakaryocytes. Those are the cells that make platelets. And our research has shown that megakaryocytes are very abnormal in the disease, and we have predicted or hypothesized that these aberrant megakaryocytes directly cause many of the features of the disease, and that if we could come up with strategies to eliminate those abnormal megakaryocytes, we could develop new therapies. The second major area of research is on leukemic progression. So, I would say that that progression to acute leukemia is really terrible outcome for patients, and we have very few therapies for patients that do advance at that stage. So, our research in the past few years has focused on understanding the mechanism.

So, what are the genetic drivers of leukemia progression and then using that information to develop new therapies? … My passion is to develop treatments to prevent and to treat and then also prevent leukemic progression. Again, it's not an easy area of research, but it's, I think, to me, the most important area. There are many important areas, of course, in the MPNS, but I think that that's an area very high unmet medical need.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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