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- Title
Actinomycin D induces p53-independent cell death and prolongs survival in high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
- Authors
Merkel, O; Wacht, N; Sifft, E; Melchardt, T; Hamacher, F; Kocher, T; Denk, U; Hofbauer, J P; Egle, A; Scheideler, M; Schlederer, M; Steurer, M; Kenner, L; Greil, R
- Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most prevalent lymphoid malignancy in the elderly of the Western world. Although treatment options have improved over the past two decades, 10-15% of patients still have a poor prognosis and are often resistant to therapy. Aberrations in the p53 pathway, such as a deleted (del17p13) or mutated p53 gene, are highly enriched in this class of patients. In an extensive screen for p53-independent apoptosis inducers, actinomycin D was identified from 1496 substances and shown to induce apoptosis in primary CLL cells derived from high-risk patients including those with aberrant p53, revealing a novel p53-independent mechanism of action. Both pro-survival genes BCL2 and MCL1 are targeted by actinomycin D, in contrast to fludarabine the backbone of current treatment schedules. In the well-established TCL1 transgenic mouse model for high-risk CLL, actinomycin D treatment was more effective in reducing tumor load than fludarabine, with no evidence of resistance after three treatment cycles and an overall survival increase of over 300%. Tumor load reduction was coupled to BCL2 downregulation. Our results identify the clinically approved compound actinomycin D as a potentially valuable treatment option for CLL high-risk patients.
- Subjects
ACTINOMYCIN; CELL death; CHRONIC lymphocytic leukemia; APOPTOSIS; TRANSGENIC mice
- Publication
Leukemia (08876924), 2012, Vol 26, Issue 12, p2508
- ISSN
0887-6924
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/leu.2012.147