Haematological cell research bank
Research type
Research Tissue Bank
IRAS ID
173093
Research summary
Haematological cell research bank
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
15/WS/0077
Date of REC Opinion
5 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
Samples to be stored may be sourced from leukapheresis product (white cell concentrate); peripheral blood; bone marrow aspirate including mesenchymal or stromal support cells; umbilical cord blood; buccal swabs; saliva samples; urine; serum or plasma. Cells and other biological material have limited life span and therefore are processed for extended cryostorage in liquid nitrogen in the locked basement at 21 Shelley Road, Gartnavel General Hospital.
Demographic (e.g. age, sex), medical (e.g. clinical diagnoses including cytogenetics, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), differential blood count, stage of disease, prescribed treatment and medicines, clinical markers of response) data may be collected and stored. Such data is retrospectively gleaned from electronic and paper health records. Data is stored anonymised but linked in a password controlled database. Dat ais collected as it is often necessary to correlate clinical outcomes for individual patient donors with the scientific observations made when a sample is used in laboratory research in order to draw meaningful conclusions from the research data. For example the expression of a particular gene in a diagnosis sample may correlate with a particular prognosis or disease progression.
Pariticipants will be approached by their direct healthcare team, most often by their haematological consultant / specialist registrar, in the course of their healthcare provision at an initial visit to hospital.
A blood sample (up to 50mL) may be drawn in excess to that required for clinical diagnosis / tests. This presents little or no extra burden on the patient over and above that which is inherent in drawing a normal blood sample where there may be slight bruising at the needle injection site.
Research programme
The purpose of the bank is to understand and/or establish disease mechanisms relating to leukaemias and other haematological malignancies or diseases, in order to determine better strategies to control or eliminate disease. In order to fully understand disease process, normal controls are also studied. The haemopoietic system provides an unique tractable model for investigating how normal cell functions are altered by oncogenes to cause cancers. Leukaemias are devastating diseases of the haemopoietic system that arise from normal stem and progenitor cells that have acquired corrupted cell fate decisions. These aberrant cells, called leukaemic stem cells (LSCs), initiate and drive the process of leukaemogenesis. Current therapies fail to efficiently eradicate LSCs and therefore new curative treatments need to be identified. The research programmes within the Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre (POG-LRC) collectively focus on (i) understanding the fundamental mechanisms governing normal haemopoietic stem cell (HSC) and LSC functions, (ii) identification of novel therapeutic targets against LSCs and (iii) exploiting these targets in clinical trials. Research output is disseminated through peer reviewed scientific literature and scientific meetings, and informs clinical trial design of novel investigational agents. Collaborative research requires that some samples will be shared with national/international cognate laboratories.
RTBTitle
Haematological cell research bank
Establishment organisation
Univeristy of Glasgow
Establishment organisation address
Gartnavel General Hospital
21 Shelley Road
Glasgow
G12 0XB