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The canonical wingless-type MMTV integration site (WNT)-β-catenin pathway is essential for self-renewal, growth and survival of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) stem/blast progenitor cells (BPCs). Deregulated WNT signaling inhibits degradation of β-catenin, causing increased nuclear translocation and co-factor activity of β-catenin with the transcriptional regulator T-cell factor (TCF) 4/lymphoid enhancer factor 1 in AML BPCs. Here, we determined the pre-clinical anti-AML activity of the anthraquinone oxime-analog BC2059 (BC), known to attenuate β-catenin levels. BC treatment disrupted the binding of β-catenin with the scaffold protein transducin β-like 1 and proteasomal degradation and decline in the nuclear levels of β-catenin. This was associated with reduced transcriptional activity of TCF4 and expression of its target genes, cyclin D1, c-MYC and survivin. BC treatment dose-dependently induced apoptosis of cultured and primary AML BPCs. Treatment with BC also significantly improved the median survival of immune-depleted mice engrafted with either cultured or primary AML BPCs, exhibiting nuclear expression of β-catenin. Co-treatment with the pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat and BC synergistically induced apoptosis of cultured and primary AML BPCs, including those expressing FLT3-ITD, as well as further significantly improved the survival of immune-depleted mice engrafted with primary AML BPCs. These findings underscore the promising pre-clinical activity and warrant further testing of BC against human AML, especially those expressing FLT3-ITD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The histone demethylase LSD1 (KDM1A) demethylates mono- and di-methylated (Me2) lysine (K) 4 on histone H3. High LSD1 expression blocks differentiation and confers a poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here, treatment with the novel LSD1 antagonist SP2509 attenuated the binding of LSD1 with the corepressor CoREST, increased the permissive H3K4Me3 mark on the target gene promoters, and increased the levels of p21, p27 and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α in cultured AML cells. In addition, SP2509 treatment or LSD1 shRNA inhibited the colony growth of AML cells. SP2509 also induced morphological features of differentiation in the cultured and primary AML blasts. SP2509 induced more apoptosis of AML cells expressing mutant NPM1 than mixed-lineage leukemia fusion oncoproteins. Treatment with SP2509 alone significantly improved the survival of immune-depleted mice following tail-vein infusion and engraftment of cultured or primary human AML cells. Co-treatment with pan-HDAC inhibitor (HDI) panobinostat (PS) and SP2509 was synergistically lethal against cultured and primary AML blasts. Compared with each agent alone, co-treatment with SP2509 and PS significantly improved the survival of the mice engrafted with the human AML cells, without exhibiting any toxicity. Collectively, these findings show that the combination of LSD1 antagonist and pan-HDI is a promising therapy warranting further testing against AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panobinostat is a potent oral pandeacetylase inhibitor that leads to acetylation of intracellular proteins, inhibits cellular proliferation and induces apoptosis in leukemic cell lines. A phase Ia/II study was designed to determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of daily panobinostat, administered on two schedules: three times a week every week or every other week on a 28-day treatment cycle in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies. The criteria for hematologic dose-limiting toxicities differed between patients with indications associated with severe cytopenias at baseline (leukemia and myeloid disorders) and those less commonly associated with baseline cytopenias (lymphoma and myeloma). In patients with leukemia and myeloid disorders, 60 mg was the MTD for weekly as well as biweekly panobinostat. In patients with lymphoma and myeloma, 40 mg was the recommended dose for phase II evaluation (formal MTD not determined) of weekly panobinostat, and 60 mg was the MTD for biweekly panobinostat. Overall, panobinostat-related grade 3-4 adverse events included thrombocytopenia (41.5%), fatigue (21%) and neutropenia (21%). Single-agent activity was observed in several indications, including Hodgkin lymphoma and myelofibrosis. This phase Ia/II study provided a broad analysis of the safety profile and efficacy of single-agent panobinostat in patients with hematologic malignancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose was to assess predictive factors for outcome in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase (CML-CP) treated with nilotinib after imatinib failure. Imatinib-resistant and -intolerant patients with CML-CP (n=321) were treated with nilotinib 400 mg twice daily. Of 19 baseline patient and disease characteristics and two response end points analyzed, 10 independent prognostic factors were associated with progression-free survival (PFS). In the multivariate analysis, major cytogenetic response (MCyR) within 12 months, baseline hemoglobin 120 g/l, baseline basophils <4%, and absence of baseline mutations with low sensitivity to nilotinib were associated with PFS. A prognostic score was created to stratify patients into five groups (best group: 0 of 3 unfavorable risk factors and MCyR by 12 months; worst group: 3 of 3 unfavorable risk factors and no MCyR by 12 months). Estimated 24-month PFS rates were 90%, 79%, 67% and 37% for patients with prognostic scores of 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively, (no patients with score of 4). Even in the presence of poor disease characteristics, nilotinib provided significant clinical benefit in patients with imatinib-resistant or -intolerant CML. This system may yield insight on the prognosis of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In preclinical models, the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat sensitizes breast cancer cells to tubulin-polymerizing agents and to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor-directed therapies. We sought to determine the safety and efficacy of vorinostat plus paclitaxel and bevacizumab as first-line therapy in metastatic breast cancer (MBC), and the biological effects of vorinostat in vivo. For this purpose of this study, 54 patients with measurable disease and no prior chemotherapy for MBC received vorinostat (200 or 300 mg PO BID) on days 1-3, 8-10, and 15-17, plus paclitaxel (90 mg/m) on days 2, 9, 16, and bevacizumab (10 mg/kg) on days 2 and 16 every 28 days. The primary objective of the phase I study was to determine the recommended phase II dose (RPTD) of vorinostat, and for the phase II to detect an improvement of response rate from 40 to 60% (alpha = 0.10, beta = 0.10). No dose limiting toxicities were observed, and the RPTD of vorinostat was 300 mg BID. For the primary efficacy analysis in 44 patients at the RPTD, we observed 24 objective responses (55%, 95% confidence intervals (C.I) 39%, 70%). The adverse event profile was consistent with paclitaxel-bevacizumab, with the exception of increased diarrhea with the addition of vorinostat. Analysis of serial tumor biopsies in seven patients showed increased acetylation of Hsp90 and α-tubulin following vorinostat. Vorinostat induces histone and alpha tubulin acetylation and functional inhibition of Hsp90 in breast cancer in vivo and can be safely combined with paclitaxel and bevacizumab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a molecular chaperone with many oncogenic client proteins. The small-molecule Hsp90 inhibitor alvespimycin, a geldanamycin derivative, is being developed for various malignancies. This phase 1 study examined the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), safety and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profiles of alvespimycin in patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients with advanced AML received escalating doses of intravenous alvespimycin (8–32 mg/m2), twice weekly, for 2 of 3 weeks. Dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) were assessed during cycle 1. A total of 24 enrolled patients were evaluable for toxicity. Alvespimycin was well tolerated; the MTD was 24 mg/m2 twice weekly. Common toxicities included neutropenic fever, fatigue, nausea and diarrhea. Cardiac DLTs occurred at 32 mg/m2 (elevated troponin and myocardial infarction). Pharmacokinetics revealed linear increases in Cmax and area under the curve (AUC) from 8 to 32 mg/m2 and minor accumulation upon repeated doses. Pharmacodynamic analyses on day 15 revealed increased apoptosis and Hsp70 levels when compared with baseline within marrow blasts. Antileukemia activity occurred in 3 of 17 evaluable patients (complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery). The twice-weekly administered alvespimycin was well tolerated in patients with advanced AML, showing linear pharmacokinetics, target inhibition and signs of clinical activity. We determined a recommended phase 2 dose of 24 mg/m2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are molecular chaperones that regulate protein folding to ensure correct conformation and translocation and to avoid protein aggregation. Heat-shock proteins are increased in many solid tumours and haematological malignancies. Many oncogenic proteins responsible for the transformation of cells to cancerous forms are client proteins of HSP90. Targeting HSP90 with chemical inhibitors would degrade these oncogenic proteins, and thus serve as useful anticancer agents. This review provides an overview of the HSP chaperone machinery and the structure and function of HSP90. We also highlight the key oncogenic proteins that are regulated by HSP90 and describe how inhibition of HSP90 could alter the activity of multiple signalling proteins, receptors and transcriptional factors implicated in carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To describe long-term results of a multimodality strategy for stage III breast cancer utilizing neoadjuvant doxorubicin followed by mastectomy, CMF, and radiotherapy. Patients and methods Women with biopsy-proven, clinical stage III breast cancer and adequate organ function were eligible. Neoadjuvant doxorubicin (30 mg/m2 days 1–3, every 28 days for 4 cycles) was followed by mastectomy, in stable or responding patients. Sixteen weeks of postoperative CMF followed (continuous oral cyclophosphamide (2 mg/kg/day); methotrexate (0.7 mg/kg IV) and fluorouracil (12 mg/kg IV) weekly, weeks 1–8, and than biweekly, weeks 9–16). Radiation therapy followed adjuvant chemotherapy. Results Clinical response rate was 71% (79/111, 95% CI = 62–79%), with 19% complete clinical response. Pathologic complete response was 5% (95% CI = 2–11%). Median follow-up is 15.6 years. Half of the patients progressed by 2.2 years; half died by 5.4 years (range 6 months–15 years). The hazard of dying was greatest in the first 5 years after diagnosis and declined thereafter. Time to progression and overall survival were predicted by number of pathologically involved lymph nodes (TTP: HR [10 vs. 1 node] 2.40, 95% CI = 1.63–3.53, P < 0.0001; OS: HR 2.50, 95% CI = 1.74–3.58, P < 0.0001). Conclusions After multimodality treatment for locally advanced breast cancer, long-term survival was correlated with the number of pathologically positive lymph nodes, but not to clinical response. The hazard of death was highest during the first 5 years after diagnosis and declined thereafter, indicating a possible intermediate endpoint for future trials of neoadjuvant treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the final state Coulomb interaction on particles produced in Pb+Pb collisions at 158 AGeV/c has been investigated in the WA98 experiment through the study of the π-/π+ and K-/K+ ratios measured as a function of mT-m0. While the ratio for kaons shows no significant mT dependence, the π-/π+ ratio is enhanced at small mT-m0 values with an enhancement that increases with centrality. A silicon pad detector located near the target is used to estimate the contribution of hyperon decays to the π-/π+ ratio. The comparison of results with predictions of the RQMD model in which the Coulomb interaction has been incorporated allows to place constraints on the time of the pion freeze-out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective modulation of cell death is important for rational chemotherapy. By depleting Hsp90-client oncoproteins, geldanamycin (GA) and 17-allylamino-17-demethoxy-GA (17-AAG) (heat-shock protein-90-active drugs) render certain oncoprotein-addictive cancer cells sensitive to chemotherapy. Here we investigated effects of GA and 17-AAG in apoptosis-prone cells such as HL60 and U937. In these cells, doxorubicin (DOX) caused rapid apoptsis, whereas GA-induced heat-shock protein-70 (Hsp70) (a potent inhibitor of apoptosis) and G1 arrest without significant apoptosis. GA blocked caspase activation and apoptosis and delayed cell death caused by DOX. Inhibitors of translation and transcription and siRNA Hsp70 abrogated cytoprotective effects of GA. Also GA failed to protect HL60 cells from cytotoxicity of actinomycin D and flavopiridol (FL), inhibitors of transcription. We next compared cytoprotection by GA-induced Hsp70, caspase inhibitors (Z-VAD-fmk) and cell-cycle arrest. Whereas cell-cycle arrest protected HL60 cells from paclitaxel (PTX) but not from FL and DOX, Z-VAD-fmk prevented FL-induced apoptosis but was less effective against DOX and PTX. Thus, by inducing Hsp70, GA protected apoptosis-prone cells in unique and cell-type selective manner. Since GA does not protect apoptosis-reluctant cancer cells, we envision a therapeutic strategy to decrease side effects of chemotherapy without affecting its therapeutic efficacy.Cell Death and Differentiation (2006) 13, 1434–1441. doi:10.1038/sj.cdd.4401812; published online 25 November 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed fluorescence in situ hybridisation analysis of a previously described translocation revealed it to be a more complex rearrangement consisting of both a translocation and a paracentric inversion with an apparent coincident breakpoint at 16p13.3, t(14;16)(p32;p13.3) inv16(p13.3p12.1). This unusual three-breakpoint rearrangement was not obvious from examination of G-banding. Such rearrangements may be undiagnosed in cytogenetic studies. The presence of an interstitial deletion of 16p was unlikely as the rearranged chromosome contained probes distributed along the short arm of chromosome 16. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation studies suggested that the inverted segment was smaller in size than that on the normal chromosome. Measurements of distances between probes on metaphase chromosomes confirmed that there was differential compaction of the inverted portion on 16p. The inverted region was significantly reduced in size by 21% compared with the same region on the normal chromosome 16. The size reduction across the region was non-uniform, with one region showing a 55% increase in compaction. The change in compaction was also associated with a change in the lateral position of a probe on the chromatids. The finding that a single chromosome breakpoint can change the compaction of chromatin over an extensive region has implications for models of the structure of metaphase chromosomes. Possible explanations are either a localized severe disruption of DNA packaging over relatively short distances (hundreds of kilobases) or a more generalized change that extends over many megabases. These results raise the important possibility that chromosome breaks may result in a more global change in DNA compaction across large segments of a chromosome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bcr-Abl fusion protein drives leukemogenesis and can render leukemia cells resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Geldanamycin (GA), a drug which destabilizes Hsp90-associated proteins, depletes cells of Bcr-Abl, an Hsp90 client, but not of Abl. Both HL60 cells transfected with Bcr-Abl and naturally Ph1-positive K562 leukemia cells are resistant to most cytotoxic drugs, but were found to be sensitive to GA. Furthermore, GA sensitized Bcr-Abl-expressing cells to doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTX). In contrast, in parental HL60 cells, 90 nM GA inhibited PARP cleavage, nuclear fragmentation, and cell death caused by 500 ng/ml DOX. Like GA, STI 571 (an inhibitor of the Abl kinase) sensitized Bcr-Abl-expressing cells to DOX. Unlike GA, STI 571 did not antagonize the cytotoxic effects of DOX in parental HL60 cells. These results indicate that sensitization of Bcr-Abl-expressing cells, but not desensitization of HL60 cells, depends on inhibition of Bcr-Abl. Thus, GA differentially affects leukemia cells depending on their Bcr-Abl expression and selectively increases apoptosis in Bcr-Abl-expressing cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By inhibiting the tyrosine kinase (TK) activity of Bcr-Abl, STI-571 induces differentiation and apoptosis of HL-60/Bcr-Abl (with ectopic expression of p185 Bcr-Abl) and K562 (containing endogenous expression of p210 Bcr-Abl) but not of the control HL-60 cells. Treatment with arsenic trioxide (As2O3) lowers Bcr-Abl protein levels and induces apoptosis of the Bcr-Abl-positive leukemic blasts (Blood 2000; 95: 1014). Here, we demonstrate that compared to treatment with STI-571 (0.25 to 1.0 microM) or As2O3 (0.5 to 2.0 microM) alone, combined treatment with As2O3 and STI-571 induced significantly more apoptosis of HL-60/Bcr-Abl and K562 but not HL-60/neo cells (P < 0.05). Combined treatment with As2O3 and STI-571 also resulted in greater reductions in the levels of Bcl-x(L), XIAP and Akt, and inhibition of Akt kinase activity. Co-treatment with As2O3 inhibited STI-571-induced hemoglobin, which was associated with the cleavage and downregulation of GATA-1 transcription factor involved in erythroid differentiation. These data demonstrate that a treatment strategy which combines an agent that lowers Bcr-Abl levels, eg As2O3, with an agent that inhibits Bcr-Abl TK activity, eg STI-571, can potently induce apoptosis and differentiation of Bcr-Abl-positive human leukemic cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antimicrotubule anticancer drug, Taxol, suppresses microtubule dynamics, causes mitotic arrest, and induces caspase-3 cleavage and activity resulting in apoptosis of human AML HL-60 cells. Caspase-3 cleavage is triggered by the mitochondrial release and cytosolic accumulation of the electron transfer protein, cytochrome c (cyt c). Taxol-induced G2/M transition is mediated by p34(cdc-2) (CDK1) which, if prematurely activated, may also trigger apoptosis. In the present studies following S-phase synchronization and release, HL-60 cells with enforced expression of the bcl-xL (HL-60/Bcl-xL) and/or neomycin resistance gene (HL-60/neo) were exposed to Taxol to examine CDK1-related cell-cycle events and the cyt c-triggered molecular cascade of apoptosis. At various time-intervals after Taxol treatment, immunoblot analyses of cyclin B1 and CDK1 levels were performed. In addition, the in vitro histone H1 kinase activity of immunoprecipitated CDK1 and its tyrosine phosphorylation status (by anti-phosphotyrosine immunoblot analysis) were determined. Data presented here show that, while Taxol-induced peak CDK1 kinase activity occurs earlier in HL-60/neo cells, there are no significant differences in cyclin B1 accumulation, tyrosine dephosphorylation of CDK1, and mitotic arrest of Taxol-treated HL-60/neo vs HL-60/Bcl-xL cells. Taxol-induced CDK1 activation and mitosis preceded the cytosolic accumulation (approximately six-fold) of cyt c. The latter event was blocked by Bcl-xL overexpression but not by inhibitors of caspase-3. Although the caspase inhibitors and high Bcl-xL levels inhibited caspase-3 cleavage and activity, they did not significantly affect Taxol-induced CDK1 activation or mitotic arrest. These findings indicate that Bcl-xL overexpression does not affect Taxol-induced CDK1 activity leading to G2/M transition, which temporally precedes the cytosolic cyt c-mediated cleavage and activity of caspase-3 and apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The mechanism for producing slow, target associated particles in high energy heavy ion collisions is investigated. It is shown that the same mechanism which was proposed for hadron induced interactions is likely to appear also for heavy-ion reactions. The results indicate however a much weaker correlation between impact parameter and yield of slow particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy and centrality dependence of local particle pseudorapidity densities as well as validity of various parametrizations of the distributions are examined. The dispersion, σ, of the rapidity density distribution of produced particles varies slowly with centrality and is 0.80, 0.98, 1.21 and 1.41 for central interactions at 3.7, 14.6, 60 and 200 A GeV incident energy, respectively, σ is found to be independent of the size of the interacting system at fixed energy. A novel way of representing the window dependence of the multiplicity as normalized variance versus inverse average multiplicity is outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scaling behaviour in the fragmentation regions is investigated forO-Em interactions from 3.7 to 200 A GeV. It is found that in both the projectile- and the target-fragmentation regions, the multiplicity and pseudo-rapidity distributions as well as the two-particle pseudo-rapidity correlations are independent of incident energy. The intermittency indices at 14.6, 60 and 200 A GeV are the same within the experimental errors, indicating that the limiting fragmentation hypothesis works with regard to dynamical as well as statistical fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluctuations of charged particles in high energy oxygen, silicon and sulphur induced interactions are investigated with the method of scaled factorial moments. It is found that for decreasing bin size down to δη∼0.1 the EMU01 data exhibits intermittent behaviour. The intermittency indexes are found to decrease with increasing incident energy and multiplicity and to increase with increasing target mass. It seems also to increase as the projectile mass increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fragmentation topology ofSi at 3.7A GeV and 14.6A GeV andS at 200A GeV in reactions with emulsion nuclei is presented. The fragmentation cross sections are very similar at all three energies. A statistical percolation model can qualitatively describe the data for Z≥ 6. The He production is underestimated and the 3 ≤ Z ≤ 5 fragments overestimated by this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sample of high multiplicity quasi-central Kr+Ag(Br) interactions has been'analysed in terms of angular correlations between projectile and target fragments. The azimuthal correlation of PFs and TFs suggests the presence of a weak collective (bounce-off) effect. Other observations like, target recoil velocity, F/B ratio of TFs with respect to direction of their source etc. are interpreted in terms of a simple two body quasi-elastic scattering and a modified Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ar-emulsion interactions are studied, to investigate the question of anomalons, in two G- 5 emulsion stacks. In about 4600 primary interactions, projectile fragments of Z≧2 for all generations have been followed until they interact or leave the stack. After careful estimation of charges of these fragments, variation of their mean free paths is studied as a function of distance from the preceding interaction. Generation effect, N dependence and production angle effect are investigated. In addition multi-chain events are analysed separately. Our results do not show anomalons at the 6% level and are consistent with non-occurrence of anomalons. However, this experiment is not sensitive enough to rule out anomalons (with a mfp of the order of 2 to 3 cm) produced at about 1% (or less) level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taxol is metabolized by the liver microsomal cytochrome P450 enzyme system into its principal metabolite 6 alpha-hydroxytaxol (6HT). In the present in vitro studies 6HT was compared to taxol with respect to its effects on tubulin depolymerization, mitotic arrest, clonogenic survival and apoptosis in HL-60 cells. 6HT was generated by incubating taxol with human liver microsomes in a NADPH-generating system. HL-60 cells were incubated for 24 h with either taxol or 6HT, washed and placed in drug-free suspension or cultured for colony growth in agarose. For the suspension and colony culture growth of the cells, the IC50 concentrations of 6HT were 500 +/- 46 and 350 +/- 37 nM, while those of taxol were 3.2 +/- 0.2 and 2.8 +/- 0.5 nM, respectively. Immediately after a 24-h exposure of HL-60 cells to 50 nM taxol, electrophoresis of genomic DNA from HL-60 cells revealed an internucleosomal DNA fragmentation 'ladder'. In addition, 39% of the cells were arrested in mitosis and 16% showed the morphologic features of apoptosis. In contrast, an identical treatment with 6HT resulted in the mitotic arrest of only 2.8% of the cells, with 4.0% displaying apoptosis (P < 0.01); internucleosomal DNA fragmentation was not observed. 6HT was also significantly less effective than taxol in inhibiting the temperature-induced depolymerization of microtubules in a cell-free system. However, at equipotent concentrations, the effect of 6HT on tubulin depolymerization, mitotic arrest or apoptosis was similar to that of taxol. In addition, at concentrations of taxol or 6HT at or below their IC50, there was little tubulin depolymerization, mitotic arrest or apoptosis. The results presented here show that the biotransformation of taxol to 6HT substantially detoxifies taxol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the ability of different doses and durations of exposure to the chemotherapeutic drugs 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C), mitoxantrone (MTN), and paclitaxel (taxol, TXL) to induce internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and apoptosis in human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) HL-60 cells in suspension culture. At clinically achievable concentrations, all three drugs have been shown to induce apoptosis in HL-60 cells. An improved method was developed for the isolation of pure genomic DNA and the detection of drug-induced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in < 1.0 microgram of DNA sample by agarose gel electrophoresis. Morphologic evidence for apoptosis was determined by light microscopy following Wright staining, and cell viability was assessed by trypan blue dye exclusion. Internucleosomal DNA fragmentation was observed following exposure to 1.0 microM Ara-C for 4 h, which increased with 10 and 50 microM Ara-C. Incubation with 100 microM Ara-C produced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation starting at 3 h, which increased with longer periods of exposure to Ara-C. Utilizing a schedule of 1-h exposure followed by 3-h suspension in drug-free medium, 0.25 microM MTN was found to initiate DNA fragmentation, which increased with exposure to 1.0 and 5.0 microM MTN. However, identical treatment with higher concentrations of MTN resulted in random DNA degradation. Alternatively, continuous exposure to 1.0 microM MTN for 3 h was necessary to initiate internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. This increased with exposure intervals of up to 6 h. Exposure to TXL concentrations as low as 0.01 microM for 24 h caused internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, which increased with dose escalation (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 microM) of TXL. Although continuous exposure to 1.0 microM TXL for a period as short as 8 h produced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, this increased significantly with longer exposure intervals. In general there appears to be a threshold concentration and duration of exposure below which none of these three drugs activates endonucleolytic internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and apoptosis. This threshold is lower for the DNA-interactive drugs MTN and Ara-C but higher for the non-DNA-interactive drug TXL. Higher doses or prolonged treatments with the drugs produce random DNA fragmentation associated with necrotic cell death. These in vitro results may further improve our understanding of the antileukemic cytotoxic effects of these drugs, which may enable a more rational design of drug regimens for optimal treatment of AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glycoproteins on the surface of HL-60/S wild-type, drug-sensitive human leukemia cells and HL-60/AR anthracycline-resistant cells which do not overexpress the P-glycoprotein, were characterized by labeling with [35S]-methionine, NaB[3H4], phosphorus 32, or sodium iodide I 125. HL-60/S and HL-60/AR cell lysates and membrane fractions tagged with [35S]-methionine or phosphorus 32 showed no significant differences in their protein patterns as analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and by autoradiography. HL-60/S cells labeled with NaB[3H4] yielded glycoproteins that were smeared predominantly in the molecular-weight range of 210,000 and 160,000 Da, with pI values ranging between pH 4 and pH 4.4. In contrast, NaB[3H4]-labeled HL-60/AR cells showed 7-8 discrete glycoproteins within a molecular-weight range of 170,000 and 140,000 Da, with pI values also ranging between pH 4 and pH 4.4. In addition, [3H]-glucosamine incorporation into HL-60/S and HL-60/AR cells revealed that the latter showed lower uptake of [3H]-glucosamine than did the former. Following treatment with tunicamycin, [3H]-glucosamine uptake in HL-60/S cells decreased, whereas that in HL-60/AR cells remained unchanged. Surface-membrane radioiodination of HL-60/S and HL-60/AR cells showed two distinct protein electrophoretic patterns, with differences being observed in both the high-(220-95 kDa) and low-molecular-weight ranges (21 kDa). Flow cytometric analysis of HL-60/S and HL-60/AR cells using myeloid and lymphoid antigen-specific antibodies demonstrated no antigenic differences between HL-60/S and HL-60/AR cells. HL-60/S cells incubated in the presence of tunicamycin, an inhibitor of N-linked glycosylation, or the protein kinase C agonist phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) developed a glycoprotein pattern similar to that observed in HL-60/AR cells. In addition, tunicamycin treatment of HL-60/S cells decreased daunorubicin (DNR) retention and altered its intracellular distribution as compared with that in HL-60/AR cells. These data indicate that HL-60/AR cells do not possess either de novo or amplified high-molecular-weight surface-membrane proteins; instead, existing proteins are hypoglycosylated. These results also show that HL-60/AR cells exhibit the multidrug-resistant phenotype in association with altered membrane glycoproteins of both high (220-95 kDa) and low molecular weight (21 kDa), but without overexpression of the P-glycoprotein. Furthermore, in HL-60/S cells, the multidrug-resistant phenotype is partially inducible by inhibition of N-linked glycosylation of cell-surface proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of high concentrations of exogenous dCyd on the growth inhibitory properties of several inhibitors of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis (dThd, 3-DAU, PALA, PF) was examined in three cultured human leukemic cell lines (HL-60, K-562, KG-1), and a dCyd kinase-deficient, Ara-C-resistant variant (HL-60/Ara-C). In the presence of dCyd concentrations (10(-3) M), far exceeding normal human plasma levels (0.5 to 4.0 X 10(6) M), substantial but partial reversal of pyrimidine antagonist-mediated growth inhibition and restoration of intracellular dCTP levels was noted in all cell types except HL-60/Ara-C. When high concentrations of dCyd (10(-3) M) were combined with low levels of uridine or cytidine (10(-5) M), full restoration of growth was observed in sensitive cell lines. When exposed to supraphysiologic concentrations of dCyd, HL-60/Ara-C cells were more sensitive to the growth inhibitory effects of pyrimidine antagonists than parent HL-60 cells; this phenomenon was maximal at 10(-4) M dCyd and was not observed in the presence of dCyd concentrations of 10(-6) M or lower. These studies suggest that in the presence of low concentrations of uridine or cytidine, perturbations in intracellular dCTP pools may play a critical role in determining the in vitro antiproliferative response of human leukemic myeloid cells to diverse inhibitors of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. They also raise the possibility that modulation of exogenous dCyd concentrations may improve the therapeutic efficacy of pyrimidine antagonists toward certain salvage pathway-deficient, drug-resistant leukemic cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overexpression of P-glycoprotein (PGP), MRP or LRP has been characterized as the 'proximal', while overexpression of the anti-apoptosis Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL relative to the pro-apoptosis Bax protein has been recognized as the 'distal' mechanism of multidrug resistance in human AML cells. In the present studies, we examined whether these mechanisms can co-exist in human AML HL-60 cells. We also determined how these mechanisms would affect the accumulation and cytotoxicity of a PGP substrate, such as Taxol (paclitaxel). For this, immunoblot analyses were performed to determine the expression of PGP, MRP, Myc, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and Bax on either the multidrug-resistant HL-60 sublines created under the selection pressure of doxorubicin (HL-60/AR), paclitaxel (HL-60/TAX1000) or vincristine (HL-60/VCR), or sublines created by transfection and overexpression of the bcl-2 (HL-60/Bcl-2) or bcl-xL gene (HL-60/Bcl-xL). As compared to the control HL-60, HL-60/AR cells possess high MRP while HL-60/TAX1000 and HL-60/VCR cells express high levels of the mdr-1 encoded PGP. In addition, these multidrug-resistant cells possess 1.5- to 2.5-fold higher Bcl-2, while their Bax and Myc levels are similar to those in the control HL-60 cells. HL-60/TAX1000 and HL-60/VCR cells also express three- and 2.5-fold higher Bcl-xL levels. PGP, but not MRP, overexpression significantly impaired paclitaxel accumulation and paclitaxel-induced apoptosis, as well as reduced its cytotoxic effects as determined by the MTT assay. In contrast, enforced and much higher expression of Bcl-2 in HL-60/Bcl-2 (five-fold) or Bcl-xL in HL-60/Bcl-xL cells (10-fold) significantly reduced paclitaxel-induced apoptosis and the loss of cell viability, without affecting its intracellular accumulation. These results confirm the possibility of co-expression of multiple mechanisms of multidrug resistance in human leukemic cells which had been selected by exposure to a single drug. The results also indicate that MRP overexpression does not confer resistance against paclitaxel. In addition, these findings suggest that, for Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, enforced overexpression to high levels is necessary to induce paclitaxel resistance in HL-60 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies test for mutations in the kinase domain of the abl gene in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) using peripheral blood (PB) cells. Frequently, progression of the disease manifests with increased blasts in bone marrow (BM) and not in PB. Simultaneous analysis of plasma, PB cells and BM cells from 41 imatinib-resistent CML patients showed mutations in 63% of PB cells and 68% of plasma or BM cells (P=0.04). In discordant patients, 13 mutations were detected in plasma, 11 in BM cells and 9 in PB cells. The T315I mutation was detected in plasma and BM but not PB cells in one patient. We detected no mutations in the plasma of 45 previously untreated CML patients, but two of these patients showed mutations in plasma and not cells by 9 months on therapy. Circulating plasma mRNA is a reliable alternative to BM mRNA for detecting ABL mutations.Leukemia (2006) 20, 1989–1991. doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2404355; published online 24 August 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rare case of broken tracheostomy tube in the left main bronchus is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]