title: Monoglycerides induce apoptosis in human leukemic cells while sparing normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
abstract: A major drawback of the current antineoplastic treatments is their lack of specificity toward cancer cells, because they are most often cytotoxic to normal cells, thus creating related side effects. Hence, the identification of new apoptosis-inducing agents, specifically targeting malignant cells while sparing their normal counterparts, is of crucial interest. We show here that monoglycerides, a family of lipids consisting of a single fatty acid attached to a glycerol backbone, induce cell death in several human leukemic cell lines. Importantly, treatment of primary leukemic cells, obtained from B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, resulted in rapid apoptosis. In striking contrast, resting or activated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy individuals were resistant to the same treatment. Therefore, these compounds could represent potential antileukemic drugs or could allow for the design of novel therapeutic agents applied to leukemia.
authors.affiliation: PROCREA BioSciences, Division of Research and Development, Montréal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Fabianne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Philippoussis
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arguin
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mateo
authors.forename: Ann-Muriel
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Steff
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hugo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001773:Blood Cells; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005989:Glycerides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000473:pathology*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D005989:Glycerides