The BH3-mimetic ABT-737 effectively kills acute myeloid leukemia initiating cells

The anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 are abundantly expressed in hematopoietic stem cells and/or progenitor cells. Furthermore, leukemic cells expressing these proteins are enriched in minimal residual disease cell populations. This prompted us to test the BH3-mimetic compound ABT-737 for it...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Denis V. Baev, Janusz Krawczyk, Michael O׳Dwyer, Eva Szegezdi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2014-01-01
Series:Leukemia Research Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213048914000120
Description
Summary:The anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 are abundantly expressed in hematopoietic stem cells and/or progenitor cells. Furthermore, leukemic cells expressing these proteins are enriched in minimal residual disease cell populations. This prompted us to test the BH3-mimetic compound ABT-737 for its ability to eradicate putative leukemic stem cells. ABT-737 demonstrated potent cytotoxic effects in all patient samples tested. The efficacy of ABT-737 against AML blasts and the primitive CD34+/CD38− population was equal and independent of sensitivity to cytarabine/daunorubicin. These results, together with previously reported synergistic effects of ABT-737 with chemotherapeutics make BH3-mimetics promising candidates for future AML treatment regimens.
ISSN:2213-0489