The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Stem cell and Cancer stem cell Regulation

Magnusson Group

Our Research

The main aim of our research is to develop stem cell based therapies for blood and pulmonary disorders. Cancer stem cells (CSC) – which are resistance to conventional therapies – share the normal stem cells capacity of self-renewal. Therefore, it is crucial to define the regulators of self-renewal in normal stem cells and CSC in order to design new treatments that specifically target CSC. We have developed an in vitro culture model for studying human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in which we have successfully identified proteins regulating self-renewal, such as HLF. Excitingly, we have optimized our culture model for small molecule screening measuring their effect on both differentiation and proliferation on primary acute myeloid leukemia. Our approaches allow us to unravel the molecular drivers of the leukemia but also develop patient specific therapy. In contrast to stem cells role in the bone marrow, the role of epithelial stem cells in the human lung is not clear and we are currently characterizing the human epithelial hierarchy in order to identify the key mechanisms regulating lung regeneration and to further identify drivers of pulmonary diseases and lung cancer.

Aims

  • Deciphering regulators of normal and malignant stem cells - towards tailored treatment
  • Defining a road map of the epithelial stem and progenitor cells in human lung regeneration, homeostasis and disease

Impact

Many cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy that unspecifically targets all proliferative cells leading to severe side effects and a high relapse rate. The high relapse rate is a result of the inefficiency of conventional therapy to eradicate the cancer stem cells (CSC) that are believed to drive the disease and to be resistant to chemotherapy. Our goal is to understand the mechanisms driving cancer by functionally and molecularly identifying the cancer stem cells that are resistant to chemotherapy. In addition, we aim to to find the most optimal drug combination for each patient targeting all cancer cells.  Our hope is that our results will improve survival and patient suffering during treatment, which will also have a positive effect on the socio-economic level.

List of Team Magnusson's publications


Team

(name linked to profile in Lund University research portal)

Mattias Magnusson 

Principal Investigator, Mattias [dot] Magnusson [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (Mattias[dot]Magnusson[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)

Aurelie Baudet

Postdoc, Aurelie [dot] Baudet [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (Aurelie[dot]Baudet[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)

Pavan Prabhala 

Postdoc, Pavan [dot] Prabhala [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (Pavan[dot]Prabhala[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)

Simon Hultmark 

Research Engineer, Simon [dot] Hultmark [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (Simon[dot]Hultmark[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)

Rebecka Cattani

Bachelors Student, re6457ca-s [at] student [dot] lu [dot] se (re6457ca-s[at]student[dot]lu[dot]se)

Mattias Magnusson


Portrait Mattias Magnusson

Principal Investigator
PhD, Researcher

Phone: +46 46 222 14 46
Email: Mattias [dot] Magnusson [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (Mattias[dot]Magnusson[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)   

Profile in Lund University research portal