Advances in culture methods for acute myeloid leukemia research

Conventional suspension cultures have been used in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) research to study its biology as well as to screen any drug molecules, since its inception. Co-culture models of AML cells and other stromal cells as well as 3 dimensional (3D) culture models have gained much attention recently. These culture models try to recapitulate the tumour microenvironment and are found to be more suitable than suspension cultures. Though animal models are being used, they require more time, effort and facilities and hence, it is essential to develop cell culture models for high-throughput screening of drugs. Here, we discuss a new co-culture model developed by our research group involving acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and stimulated macrophages. Other studies on co-culture systems and relevance of 3D culture in leukemic research in understanding the pathology and treatment of leukemia are also reviewed.