title: Enhanced antitumor activity of a combination of MBD2-antisense electrotransfer gene therapy and bleomycin electrochemotherapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MBD2 is a methylated DNA-binding protein that has been previously suggested to have transcriptional silencing as well as DNA demethylase activities. We have previously shown that electrotransfer of an MBD2-antisense encoding plasmid inhibits tumor growth in vivo. In this study we tested whether a combination of MBD2-antisense gene therapy and bleomycin chemotherapy has an augmented antitumor effect in comparison with either monotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mice bearing human non-small-cell lung carcinoma line H1299 xenoplants were treated with electrotransfer of either bleomycin or MBD2-antisense expression plasmid or a combination of both therapies and tumor growth following treatment was monitored.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A combination of electrotransfer of MBD2-antisense and bleomycin electrochemotherapy has an additive inhibitory effect on the rate of tumor growth and a synergistic effect on the number of tumor-free animals when compared with either monotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that a combination of MBD2-antisense electrotransfer gene therapy and chemotherapy with bleomycin is a candidate new approach to anticancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: GENCELL SA, 72-82 rue Léon Geffroy, 94400 Vitry-sur-Seine, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Agnès
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ivanov
authors.affiliation: GENCELL SA, 72-82 rue Léon Geffroy, 94400 Vitry-sur-Seine, France.
authors.forename: Badia
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lamrihi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, 3655 Drummond Street, Montreal, PQ H3G 1Y6, Canada.
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szyf
authors.affiliation: Unité de Pharmacologie Chimique et Génétique FRE CNRS 2463, Université René Descartes, Faculté de Pharmacie, 4 avenue de l'observatoire, 75270 Paris cedex 06, France.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scherman
authors.affiliation: Unité de Pharmacologie Chimique et Génétique FRE CNRS 2463, Université René Descartes, Faculté de Pharmacie, 4 avenue de l'observatoire, 75270 Paris cedex 06, France.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bigey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016373:DNA, Antisense; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018274:Electroporation; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D051379:Mice; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000628:therapy*; D010957:Plasmids; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D016373:DNA, Antisense; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C115368:MBD2 protein; D001761:Bleomycin