Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research
Small PARP inhibitor PJ-34 induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of adult T-cell leukemia cells
Published in: Journal of Hematology & Oncology | Issue 1/2015
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Background
HTLV-I is associated with the development of an aggressive form of lymphocytic leukemia known as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). A major obstacle for effective treatment of ATLL resides in the genetic diversity of tumor cells and their ability to acquire resistance to chemotherapy regimens. As a result, most patients relapse and current therapeutic approaches still have limited long-term survival benefits. Hence, the development of novel approaches is greatly needed.
Methods
In this study, we found that a small molecule inhibitor of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), PJ-34, is very effective in activating S/G2M cell cycle checkpoints, resulting in permanent cell cycle arrest and reactivation of p53 transcription functions and caspase-3-dependent apoptosis of HTLV-I-transformed and patient-derived ATLL tumor cells. We also found that HTLV-I-transformed MT-2 cells are resistant to PJ-34 therapy associated with reduced cleaved caspase-3 activation and increased expression of RelA/p65.
Conclusion
Since PJ-34 has been tested in clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors, our results suggest that some ATLL patients may be good candidates to benefit from PJ-34 therapy.