Primary (AL) amyloidosis is a B-cell cancer related to multiple myeloma and characterized by the accumulation, in tissues, of protein aggregates composed of antibody-related components of B-cell origin. Unfortunately, there are no effective therapies for patients with this insidious and devastating disease.
Our proposed method for discovering new therapeutic drugs to treat AL amyloidosis is to test a large number of chemical compounds for their ability to hinder or inhibit the disease process. A library of compounds supplied by the National Cancer Institute will be screened for inhibitory capabilities in 2 novel laboratory assays that model the progression of AL-amyloidosis.