Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is a Public Health problem. Since despite the prognosis of childhood leukemia has improved considerably, it is the main cause of death due to disease in children. The current challenge is to develop new treatments for groups of diseases with a poor prognosis and to lighten the treatments for leukemias with a good prognosis. One of the most relevant problems in this neoplasm lies in the biology of the leukemia-initiating cells, since they have the ability to evade chemotherapy and the immune response through the formation of structures called niches, these cells being the responsible for early relapse and infiltration to other organs and formation of niches, which become strategic sites for the study of the mechanisms of microenvironmental remodeling, of the interaction between the stroma and leukemic cells, and for the search for therapeutic targets. The development of therapeutic antibodies against these targets, seeks to interrupt the intercommunication between both cellular entities, has been a strategy that, together with cell therapy, governs the research and development of therapies worldwide. At the same time, the impulse of regenerative medicine to change the course of malignant diseases, as well as the evaluation of new therapeutic entities, require standardized platforms to predict their effectiveness through preclinical tests in animals and in leukemic organoids that allow deepening the knowledge and pave the way for its use in humans. For this reason, this project aims to establish biotechnological platforms that allow us to analyze the modulation of the tumor microenvironment in leukemic niches, discover and develop therapeutic antibodies and preclinically evaluate cell therapies. The foregoing, carried out within the framework of an accredited quality management system, with the participation of a multidisciplinary group with experience in research, regulation and product development, which will undoubtedly allow us to focus, shorten and pave the way for children to Mexicans can count on efficient, safe and accessible cutting-edge therapies.

Currently, the isolation and characterization of mesenchymal stromal cells has been carried out, and an in vivo model of leukemia and in vitro models through the generation of 3D cultures are being developed, for the evaluation of treatments against ALL.

The research team, together with the quality and regulatory affairs team, work together to create and consolidate the xenotransplantation unit.