Vol. 28, No. 3, 2006 (October)
	Content

DIFFERENTIATING EFFECT OF THALIDOMIDE AND GM-CSF COMBINATION ON HL-60 ACUTE PROMYELOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELLS

A.U. Ural^{1, 2,} , F. Avcu^{1, 2}, M. Zerman³, M.I. Yilmaz³, A. Pekel⁴, M. Beyzadeoglu⁵

¹Department of Hematology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey
²Medical Research Center, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey
³Department of Internal Medicine, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey
⁴Department of Immunology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey
⁵Department of Radiation Oncology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract. Aim: To investigate whether granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) with or without thalidomide can induce apoptosis and differentiation of HL-60 acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line in vitro. Methods: Effect of GM-CSF and thalidomide on proliferation of HL-60 cells was evaluated by MTT assay, cell cycle analysis was performed by propidium iodide staining approach and flow cytometry, and apoptosis rate was analyzed using FITC-conjugated annexin-V and FACScan flow cytometry. Results: The study revealed that thalidomide alone at high concentrations inhibited HL-60 cell growth and induced apoptosis. Three days treatment of low-dose thalidomide in combination with GM-CSF induced marked terminal differentiation of HL-60 cells, as it was assessed by increased expression of differentiation antigens on cell surface. Conclusion: Treatment of HL-60 cells by low concentration of thalidomide combined with GM-CSF induced terminal differentiation of HL60 cells in vitro, which may be advantageous for the elaboration of novel therapeutic regimens in patients with differentiation-inducible leukemias.

Key Words: thalidomide, GM-CSF, HL-60, differentiation, apoptosis

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