Leukemia is a common hematological malignancy with overall poor prognosis. Novel therapies are needed to improve the outcome of leukemia patients. Cholesterol metabolism reprogramming is a featured alteration in leukemia. Many metabolic-related genes and metabolites are essential to the progress and drug resistance of leukemia. Exploring potential therapeutical targets related to cholesterol homeostasis is a promising area. This review summarized the functions of cholesterol and its derived intermediate metabolites, and also discussed potential agents targeting this metabolic vulnerability in leukemia.
Keywords: Cholesterol metabolism; Drug resistance; Leukemia; Mevalonate pathway; Statins.
Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health Inc., on behalf of the Chinese Association for Blood Sciences.