by Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Helicobacter-infected Nlrc5^mø-KO mice develop precursor lesions to gastric B-cell MALT lymphoma. Representative H&E-stained sections of gastric tissues from (A) Nlrc5^mø-KO mice at 3 months post-infection with H. felis. Credit: The Journal of Pathology (2023). DOI: 10.1002/path.6053

The search for new therapies to treat a rare type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma has had an unexpected success—identifying a potential molecular target to treat other related forms of lymphoma as well.

Professor Richard Ferrero, Dr. Le (Christy) Ying and an international team focused on finding new treatment options for a form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma that develops in the stomach and is linked to infection by the bacterium, Helicobacter pylori.

They developed a pre-clinical model to study the development of stomach lymphoma associated with H. pylori infection, with their findings now being published in The Journal of Pathology.

Other lymphoma treatment targets

"We believe this treatment may also be used for other related lymphomas that develop outside of the lymphatic system and for which the causes are unknown," said Professor Ferrero.

"Using an antibody to block a key communication node between blood cells known as B and T cells, we showed that we could prevent the development of the precursor lesions leading to stomach lymphoma," Dr. Ying added.

"But while it was known that interactions between B and T cells are important for the development of stomach lymphoma in humans, we were the first to show in a pre-clinical model that drugs blocking these interactions may be used to treat this cancer," she said.

More information: Le Ying et al, Anti‐CD40L therapy prevents the formation of precursor lesions to gastric B‐cell MALT lymphoma in a mouse model, The Journal of Pathology (2023). DOI: 10.1002/path.6053

Journal information: Journal of Pathology 

Provided by Hudson Institute of Medical Research