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T Skorski

Publications and source records attributed to T Skorski.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Antileukemia effect of c-myc N3'-->P5' phosphoramidate antisense oligonucleotides in vivo.

In vitro, uniformly modified oligonucleotide N3'-->P5' phosphoramidates are apparently more potent antisense agents than phosphorothioate derivatives. To determine whether such compounds are also effective in vivo, severe combined immunodeficiency mice injected with HL-60 myeloid leukemia cells were treated systemically with equal doses of either phosphoramidate or phosphorothioate c-myc antisense or mismatched oligonucleotides. Compared with mice treated with mismatched oligodeoxynucleotides, the peripheral blood leukemic load of mice treated with the antisense sequences was markedly reduced, and such effects were associated with significantly prolonged survival of the antisense-treated mice. Moreover, with each of three different treatment schedules (100, 300, or 900 microg/day for 6 consecutive days), survival of the phosphoramidate-treated mice was significantly longer than that of the phosphorothioate-treated mice. Both phosphoramidate and phosphorothioate oligonucleotides were efficiently taken up by leukemic cells in vivo and were capable of specifically down-regulating c-Myc expression. Moreover, tissue distribution of the phosphoramidate derivatives was undistinguishable from that of the phosphorothioate derivatives. Collectively, these studies suggest that phosphoramidate oligonucleotides can serve as potent and specific antisense agents in the treatment of human leukemia and probably of other malignancies.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Treatment of Philadelphia leukemia in severe combined immunodeficient mice by combination of cyclophosphamide and bcr/abl antisense oligodeoxynucleotides.

BACKGROUND: Philadelphia cells are human chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells that contain the BCR/ABL oncogene (a fusion of the BCR and ABL genes). Selective eradication of these cells in vitro can be achieved by combined treatment with antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides ([S]ODNs) specifically targeted to this oncogene (bcr/abl [S]ODNs) and a suboptimal (for use as a single agent) dose of mafosfamide (the in vitro active form of cyclophosphamide). PURPOSE: We evaluated the ability of bcr/abl antisense [S]ODNs, alone or subsequent to treatment with a single injection of cyclophosphamide, to suppress the leukemic process induced in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice by Philadelphia cells (i.e., primary CML-blast crisis [CML-BC] cells). In addition, we studied potential mechanisms that might explain the efficacy of the bcr/abl antisense [S]ODN-mafosfamide combination against Philadelphia cells in vitro. METHODS: The effects of treating leukemic mice with cyclophosphamide (25 mg/kg body weight; 25% of the dose required to eradicate evidence of leukemia in SCID mice) and/or bcr/abl antisense [S]ODNs were assessed by analysis of survival, by examination of bone marrow for the presence of leukemia cells (using a colony formation assay or using coupled reverse transcription and the polymerase chain reaction to screen for bcr/abl messenger RNA), and by examination of a variety of tissues for the presence of infiltrating leukemia cells. The induction of apoptosis (a cell death program) in vitro in primary CML-BC cells following treatment with bcr/abl antisense [S]ODNs plus or minus prior treatment with mafosfamide was monitored by use of a commercial assay. Relative cellular uptake of [S]ODNs by CML-BC cells treated in vitro with or without prior treatment with mafosfamide was determined by use of confocal microscopy and flow cytometry (for fluorescent [S]ODNs) or by use of blotting techniques that employed radioactively labeled probes (for extracted, unlabeled [S]ODNs). Levels of specific proteins in treated and untreated cells were determined by use of western blotting methods. Reported P values are two-sided. RESULTS: The disease process in leukemic mice was retarded substantially by combination treatment with cyclophosphamide and specific bcr/abl antisense [S]ODNs (P < .001, relative to treatment with specific antisense [S]ODNs alone, cyclophosphamide alone, or cyclophosphamide plus nonspecific [i.e., control] antisense [S]ODNs); 50% of the mice treated with cyclophosphamide and specific antisense [S]ODNs appeared to be cured of leukemia. The combination treatment was associated with increased induction of apoptosis. In addition, cellular uptake of bcr/abl antisense [S]ODNs appeared to be increased twofold to sixfold by prior treatment with mafosfamide. This increased uptake of [S]ODNs was associated with enhanced suppression of p210bcr/abl protein levels. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Combination therapy with antisense [S]ODNs targeted to specific oncogenes and less toxic doses of anticancer drugs may represent a rational strategy to purpose for the treatment of human leukemias.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Effect of bcr-abl oligodeoxynucleotides on the clonogenic growth of chronic myelogenous leukaemia cells.

We studied the effect of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides ([S]ODNs) complementary to the bcr-abl junction on cells taken at diagnosis from 41 patients with Philadelphia-positive chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML). Experiments included the evaluation of the anti-leukaemic effect of 16- and 26-mer antisense [S]ODNs on both mononuclear and CD34+ cells, evaluation of incubation time and correlation of colony growth inhibition with the down-regulation of p210(bcr-abl). At the same time, the uptake of [S]ODNs by mononuclear and purified CD34+ cell populations and the cross-hybridization of 26- and 16-mer [S]ODNs with the complementary sequences were evaluated. After incubation for 120 h with 26-mer antisense [S]ODNs on mononuclear cells, overall mean colony recovery was 41.9% of the untreated control samples; in particular, a significant reduction in colony formation was observed in 22 of the 35 cases tested. The effect of 26-mer ODNs on CD34+ cells was comparable to that observed on mononuclear cells in terms of colony inhibition; however, a higher proportion of cases showed a significant inhibition of colony formation. In comparison with the 26-mer antisense [S]ODNs, the anti-leukaemic effect of the 16-mer antisense [S]ODNs was less evident on mononuclear cells and comparable on CD34+ cells; however, a more specific effect was evident on both target cells. Hybridization experiments confirmed a partial cross-reactivity when the 26-mer ODNs were hybridized with their complementary sequence; this did not occur when 16-mer ODNs were similarly tested. Experiments aimed at evaluating the effect of the incubation time showed a significant increase in anti-leukaemic effect after a 120 h incubation period compared to that measured after a 24 h incubation period; this was parallelled by a progressive increase in the intracellular concentrations of [S]ODNs from day 1 to day 5. The accumulation of [S]ODNs correlated with a marked down-regulation of p210(bcr-abl) levels which was first detectable after 72 h of treatment. The down-regulation of p210(bcr-abl) levels following treatment with [S]ODNs showed a correlation between the effect of antisense [S]ODNs on leukaemic colony formation and protein expression. These studies confirm that, under optimal conditions of target cell culture and ODN size, antisense [S]ODNs complementary to the bcr-abl junction have specific anti-leukaemic effects.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1997

Gene regulatory mechanisms operative on hematopoietic cells: proliferation, differentiation, and neoplasia.

Blood cell formation is a highly regulated process that relies on the ability of a limited number of hematopoietic stem cells to undergo self-renewal or commitment into lineage-restricted progenitors. The daily maintenance of circulating blood cells and the adaptation to abnormal circumstances that alter the tissue homeostasis is ensured by the expansion and the differentiation of committed progenitors. Neoplastic transformation of hematopoietic cells is an extreme manifestation of the inability to coordinate proliferation and differentiation in the progenitor cell pool. Hematopoiesis-specific transcription factors play a central role in these processes both as normal regulators or, when aberrantly activated, as the pathogenetic agents in disease initiation and progression.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

[In vitro studies on anemia in chronic inflammatory disease: influence of interleukin-6 on human erythropoietin].

The influence of interleukin-6 (Il-6) on human erythropoietic progenitors growth in vitro was evaluated. It was found Il-6 causes approximately 35% inhibition of early BFU-E growth stimulated with erythropoietin, kit ligand and interleukin-3, Il-6 did not inhibit erythroid colony formation by late BFU-E and CFU-E progenitors. This data suggests the role Il-6 as one of inflammatory cytokines in pathogenesis of anemia of chronic disease acting inhibitory at early BFU-E erythroid progenitors level.

Anemia↗
PubMed1996

Blastic transformation of p53-deficient bone marrow cells by p210bcr/abl tyrosine kinase.

Blastic transformation of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is characterized by the presence of nonrandom, secondary genetic abnormalities in the majority of Philadelphia1 clones, and loss of p53 tumor suppressor gene function is a consistent finding in 25-30% of CML blast crisis patients. To test whether the functional loss of p53 plays a direct role in the transition of chronic phase to blast crisis, bone marrow cells from p53+/+ or p53-/- mice were infected with a retrovirus carrying either the wild-type BCR/ABL or the inactive kinase-deficient mutant, and were assessed for colony-forming ability. Infection of p53-/- marrow cells with wild-type BCR/ABL, but not with the kinase-deficient mutant, enhanced formation of hematopoietic colonies and induced growth factor independence at high frequency, as compared with p53+/+ marrow cells. These effects were suppressed when p53-/- marrow cells were coinfected with BCR/ ABL and wild-type p53. p53-deficient BCR/ABL-infected marrow cells had a proliferative advantage, as reflected by an increase in the fraction of S+G2 phase cells and a decrease in the number of apoptotic cells. Immunophenotyping and morphological analysis revealed that BCR/ABL-positive p53-/- cells were much less differentiated than their BCR/ABL-positive p53+/+ counterparts. Injection of immunodeficient mice with BCR/ABL-positive p53-/- cells produced a transplantable, highly aggressive, poorly differentiated acute myelogenous leukemia. In marked contrast, the disease process in mice injected with BCR/ABL-positive p53+/+ marrow cells was characterized by cell infiltrates with a more differentiated phenotype and was significantly retarded, as indicated by a much longer survival of leukemic mice. Together, these findings directly demonstrate that loss of p53 function plays an important role in blast transformation in CML.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide combination therapy of primary chronic myelogenous leukemia blast crisis in SCID mice.

The proliferation of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells and the transformation of normal hematopoietic cells by BCR-ABL appear to require the expression of a functional MYC protein, suggesting an approach to treatment of Philadelphia leukemias based on simultaneous targeting of BCR-ABL and c-MYC. To test this hypothesis, CML-blast crisis (CML-BC) primary cells were treated in vitro with bcr-abl and c-myc antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides ([S]ODNs), individually or in combination. Compared with antisense ODNs targeting of individual oncogenes, downregulation of both BCR-ABL and c-MYC by specific antisense [S]ODNs resulted in a synergistic antiproliferative effect. Colony formation of normal bone marrow cells was not affected by either treatment. To assess the therapeutic potential of multiple oncogene downregulation, SCID mice injected with CML-BC primary cells were treated systematically with equal doses of bcr-abl or c-myc antisense [S]ODNs or with a combination of both antisense [S]ODNs. Compared with mice treated with individual compounds, the disease process was significantly retarded in the group treated with both [S]ODNs as revealed by flow cytometry, clonogenic assay, and RT-PCR analysis to detect leukemic cells in mouse tissue cell suspensions. These effects correlated with a markedly increased survival of leukemic mice treated with both antisense [S]ODNs. Leukemic cells harvested from antisense [S]ODN-treated mice were sensitive to the effects of antisense [S]ODNs in vitro, suggesting that the treatment can be successfully repeated. These data demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeting multiple cooperating oncogenes.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Oligonucleotide N3'-->P5' phosphoramidates as antisense agents.

Uniformly modified oligonucleotide N3'-->P5' phosphoramidates, where every 3'-oxygen is replaced by a 3'-amino group, were synthesized. These compounds have very high affinity to single-stranded RNAs and thus have potential utility as antisense agents. As was shown in this study, the oligonucleotide phosphoramidates are resistant to digestion with snake venom phosphodiesterase, to nuclease activity in a HeLa cell nuclear extract, or to nuclease activity in 50% human plasma, where no significant hydrolysis was observed after 8 h. These compounds were used in various in vitro cellular systems as antisense compounds addressed to different targeted regions of c-myb, c-myc and bcr-abl mRNAs. C-myb antisense phosphoramidates at 5 microM caused sequence and dose-dependent inhibition of HL-60 cell proliferation and a 75% reduction in c-myb protein and RNA levels, as determined by Western blot and RT-PCR analysis. Analogous results were observed for anti-c-myc phosphoramidates, where a complete cytostatic effect for HL-60 cells was observed at 1 microM concentration for fully complementary, but not for mismatched compounds, which were indistinguishable from untreated controls. This was correlated with a 93% reduction in c-myc protein level. Moreover, colony formation by the primary CML cells was also inhibited 75-95% and up to 99% by anti-c-myc and anti-bcr-abl phosphoramidate oligonucleotides, respectively, in a sequence- and dose-dependent manner within a 0.5 nM-5 microM dose range. At these concentrations the colony-forming ability of normal bone marrow cells was not affected. The presented in vitro data indicate that oligonucleotide N3'-->P5' phosphoramidates could be used as specific and efficient antisense agents.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

BCR/ABL regulation of PI-3 kinase activity.

The ability of BCR-ABL oncoproteins to induce leukemic transformation of hematopoietic cells depends on their tyrosine kinase activity, which is essential for recruitment and activation of multiple pathways that transduce oncogenic signals. Although it is unknown yet whether activation of PI 3-kinase is required for transformation, the colony-forming ability of Philadelphia cells is dependent on PI 3-kinase activity, as indicated by the results of studies using a number of strategies to interfere with the synthesis and/or the function of the regulatory and catalytic subunits of this kinase. In particular, wortmannin, a specific PI 3-kinase inhibitor, preferentially affected colony formation of Philadelphia cells over that of normal marrow hematopoietic progenitors. The mechanism(s) of such effects are unknown, but PI 3-kinase inhibitors may represent a novel class of therapeutic agents for the ex vivo and/or in vivo treatment of Philadelphia leukemias.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Antisense strategies in the treatment of leukemias.

Oligodeoxynucleotides are short nucleotide sequences of DNA synthesized as reverse complements of the desired mRNA target's nucleotide sequence. On formation of the RNA-DNA duplex, gene expression is prevented. Delivery of oligodeoxynucleotides targeting oncogene-encoded mRNAs to human cells in culture is associated with inhibition of cell proliferation and, in some circumstances, cell death. Oligodeoxynucleotides chemically modified to survive nuclease attack have been used systemically in murine models of human hematologic malignancies. In some studies, a measurable antileukemia effect has been observed. On the basis of these preclinical investigations, phase 1 clinical trials involving ex vivo and systemic administration of such compounds are now in progress at different institutions. Despite the remarkable progress of the past few years, much remains to be addressed on uptake, cellular distribution, mechanism(s) of action, and metabolism of such compounds. Furthermore, the "antisense effects" of the oligodeoxynucleotides might also be associated with nonspecific effects. In conclusion, time, a great deal of effort, and patience will tell whether such compounds will have a role as novel antileukemia therapeutic agents.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Leukemia treatment in severe combined immunodeficiency mice by antisense oligodeoxynucleotides targeting cooperating oncogenes.

Transformation of hematopoietic cells by the p210bcr/abl tyrosine kinase appears to require the expression of a functional MYC protein, suggesting that simultaneous targeting of BCR-ABL and c-myc might be a rational strategy for attempting treatment of Phil-adelphia leukemia. To test this hypothesis, severe combined immunodeficiency mice injected with Philadelphia leukemic cells were treated systemically with equal doses of bcr-abl or c-myc antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) or with both ODNs in combination. Compared with the mice treated with individual agents, the disease process was much slower in the group treated with both ODNs, as revealed by flow cytometry, clonogenic assay, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis to detect leukemic cells in mouse tissue cell suspensions, and by enumeration of liver metastases. The retardation of the disease process was positively correlated with a markedly increased survival of leukemic mice treated with both ODNs. These data demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeting multiple cooperating oncogenes.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

De novo decorin gene expression suppresses the malignant phenotype in human colon cancer cells.

The rapid progress in the cloning of proteoglycan genes has enabled investigators to examine in depth the functional roles these polyhedric molecules play in the control of cell proliferation. Decorin, a leucine-rich proteoglycan expressed by most connective tissues, is a prototype molecule that regulates cellular growth via two mechanisms: modulation of growth factor activity and matrix assembly. We now provide direct evidence that human colon cancer cells stably transfected with decorin cDNA exhibit a marked suppression of the transformed phenotype: the cells have a reduced growth rate in vitro, form small colonies in soft agar, and do not generate tumors in scid/scid mice. Several independent clones are arrested in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, and their growth suppression can be restored by treatment with decorin antisense oligodeoxynucleotides. These effects are independent of growth factors and are not due to either clonal selection or integration site of the decorin gene. These findings correlate well with the observation that decorin gene expression is markedly up-regulated during quiescence. Decorin thus appears to be one component of a negative loop that controls cell growth.

Antisense Elements (Genetics)↗
PubMed1995

Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase activity is regulated by BCR/ABL and is required for the growth of Philadelphia chromosome-positive cells.

The BCR/ABL oncogenic tyrosine kinase is responsible for initiating and maintaining the leukemic phenotype of Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1)-positive cells. Phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI-3) kinase is known to interact with and be activated by receptor and nonreceptor tyrosine kinases. We investigated whether PI-3 kinase associates with and/or is regulated by BCR/ABL, whether this interaction is functionally significant for Ph1 cell proliferation, and, if so, whether inhibition of PI-3 kinase activity can be exploited to eliminate Ph1-positive cells from bone marrow. We show that the p85 alpha subunit of PI-3 kinase associates with BCR/ABL and that transient expression of BCR/ABL in fibroblasts and down-regulation of BCR/ABL expression using antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) in Ph1 cells activates and inhibits, respectively, PI-3 kinase enzymatic activity. The use of specific ODNs or antisense constructs to downregulate p85 alpha expression showed a requirement for p85 alpha subunit in the proliferation of BCR/ABL-dependent cell lines and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) primary cells. Similarly, wortmannin, a specific inhibitor of the enzymatic activity of the p110 subunit of PI-3 kinase, inhibited growth of these cells. The growth of normal bone marrow and erythromyeloid, but not megakaryocyte, progenitors was inhibited by p85 alpha antisense [S]ODNs, but wortmannin, at the concentrations tested, did not affect normal hematopoiesis. The proliferation of two BCR/ABL- and growth factor-independent cell lines was not affected by downregulation of the expression of the p85 alpha subunit or inhibition of p110 enzymatic activity, confirming the specificity of the observed effects on Ph1 cells. Thus, PI-3 kinase is one of the downstream effectors of BCR/ABL tyrosine kinase in CML cells. Moreover, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction performed on single colonies to detect BCR-ABL transcripts showed that wortmannin was able to eliminate selectively CML-blast crisis cells from a mixture of normal bone marrow and Ph1 cells.

Androstadienes↗
PubMed1995

C-RAF-1 serine/threonine kinase is required in BCR/ABL-dependent and normal hematopoiesis.

BCR/ABL oncogenic tyrosine kinase is responsible for initiating and maintaining the leukeic phenotype of Philadelphia chromosome-positive cells. c-RAF-1 serine/threonine kinase is known to be activated by receptor and nonreceptor tyrosine kinases. To determine whether c-RAF-1 plays a role in the growth of BCR/ABL-dependent cells, we examined whether c-RAF-1 associates with and/or is regulated by BCR/ABL and, if so, whether this interaction is functionally significant for BCR/ABL-dependent growth of chronic myelogenous leukemia cells and for growth factor-dependent proliferation of normal bone marrow cells. We show that c-RAF-1 enzymatic activity is regulated by BCR/ABL, although the protein does not associate with BCR/ABL. Downregulation of c-RAF-1 expression with antisense oligodeoxynucleotides or cDNA constructs, and inhibition of c-RAF-1 activity by its dominant negative mutants, inhibited both BCR/ABL-dependent growth of chronic myelogenous leukemia cells and growth factor-dependent proliferation of normal hematopoietic progenitors and the MO7 cell line without affecting the BCR/ABL-and growth factor-independent proliferation of HL-60 cells. These results indicate that c-RAF-1 plays an important role in Philadelphia chromosome-positive and normal hematopoiesis.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Overexpression of the zinc finger protein MZF1 inhibits hematopoietic development from embryonic stem cells: correlation with negative regulation of CD34 and c-myb promoter activity.

Zinc finger genes encode proteins that act as transcription factors. The myeloid zinc finger 1 (MZF1) gene encodes a zinc finger protein with two DNA-binding domains that recognize two distinct consensus sequences, is preferentially expressed in hematopoietic cells, and may be involved in the transcriptional regulation of hematopoiesis-specific genes. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis of human peripheral blood CD34+ cells cultured under lineage-restricted conditions demonstrated MZF1 expression during both myeloid and erythroid differentiation. Sequence analysis of the 5'-flanking region of the CD34 and c-myb genes, which are a marker of and a transcriptional factor required for hematopoietic proliferation and differentiation, respectively, revealed closely spaced MZF1 consensus binding sites found by electrophoretic mobility shift assays to interact with recombinant MZF1 protein. Transient or constitutive MZF1 expression in different cell types resulted in specific inhibition of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity driven by the CD34 or c-myb 5'-flanking region. To determine whether transcriptional modulation by MZF1 activity plays a role in hematopoietic differentiation, constructs containing the MZF1 cDNA under the control of different promoters were transfected into murine embryonic stem cells which, under defined in vitro culture conditions, generate colonies of multiple hematopoietic lineages. Constitutive MZF1 expression interfered with the ability of embryonic stem cells to undergo hematopoietic commitment and erythromyeloid colony formation and prevented the induced expression of CD34 and c-myb mRNAs during differentiation of these cells. These data indicate that MZF1 plays a critical role in hematopoiesis by modulating the expression of genes involved in this process.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Negative regulation of p120GAP GTPase promoting activity by p210bcr/abl: implication for RAS-dependent Philadelphia chromosome positive cell growth.

The p210bcr/abl tyrosine kinase appears to be responsible for initiating and maintaining the leukemic phenotype in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients. p21ras-p120GAP interactions play a central role in transducing mitogenic signals. Therefore, we investigated whether p21ras and p120GAP are regulated by p210bcr/abl, and whether this activation is functionally significant for CML cell proliferation. We report that transient expression of p210bcr/abl in fibroblast-like cells induces simultaneous activation of p21ras and inhibition of GTPase-promoting activity of p120GAP, and confirm these data showing that downregulation of p210bcr/abl expression in CML cells with bcr/abl antisense oligodeoxynucleotides induces both inhibition of p21ras activation and stimulation of GTPase-promoting activity of p120GAP. Tyrosine phosphorylation of two p120GAP-associated proteins, p190 and p62, which may affect p120GAP activity, also depends on p210bcr/abl tyrosine kinase expression. Direct dependence of these effects on the kinase activity is proven in experiments in which expression of c-MYB protein in fibroblast-like cells or downregulation of c-MYB expression resulting in analogous inhibition of CML cell proliferation does not result in the same changes. Use of specific antisense oligodeoxynucleotides to downregulate p21ras expression revealed a requirement for functional p21ras in the proliferation of Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML primary cells. Thus, the p210bcr/abl-dependent regulation of p120GAP activity is responsible, in part, for the maintenance of p21ras in the active GTP-bound form, a crucial requirement for CML cell proliferation.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Suppression of Philadelphia1 leukemia cell growth in mice by BCR-ABL antisense oligodeoxynucleotide.

When injected into SCID mice, the Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia-blast crisis cell line BV173 induces a disease process closely resembling that seen in leukemia patients. At 1 and 3 weeks after injection of 10(6) BV173 cells, CD10+ cells were detected in the bone marrow of the mice, leukemic colonies grew from bone marrow and spleen cell suspensions, and BCR-ABL transcripts were detectable in bone marrow, spleen, peripheral blood, liver, and lungs. Systemic treatment of the leukemic mice with a 26-mer BCR-ABL antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (1 mg/day for 9 days) induced disappearance of CD10+ and clonogenic leukemic cells and a marked decrease in BCR-ABL mRNA in mouse tissues. Untreated mice or mice treated with a BCR-ABL sense oligodeoxynucleotide or a 6-base-mismatched antisense oligodeoxynucleotide oligodeoxynucleotide were dead 8-13 weeks after leukemia cell injection; in marked contrast, mice treated with BCR-ABL antisense oligodeoxynucleotide died of leukemia 18-23 weeks after injection of leukemic cells. These findings provide evidence for the in vivo effectiveness of an anticancer therapy based on antisense oligodeoxynucleotides targeting a tumor-specific gene.

Animals↗