title: Tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571 (Imatinib) cooperates with wild-type p53 on K562 cell line to enhance its proapoptotic effects.
abstract: In order to ascertain whether p53 has a role in chronic myeloid leukemia hematopoietic progenitor response to the innovative tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571 (Imatinib), we overexpressed a wild type (wt) p53 construct in the K562 cell line, generated from a human blast crisis and lacking endogenous p53. Wt p53 overexpression was associated with a significant reduction of bcr-abl expression levels resulting, at least in part, from post-transcriptional events affecting the stability of p210 bcr-abl fusion protein. Moreover, we demonstrated that p53 overexpression enhances the commitment to the apoptotic death fate of K562 following its in vitro exposure to 1 microM STI571. Multiple mechanisms are involved in p53 impact on K562 survival: Most importantly, we found that a greater reduction of bcr-abl transcription by STI571 was associated with the overexpression of wt p53. Further studies are required to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the transcriptional repression of bcr-abl by STI571 and p53 and in their synergic effects on the clonal hematopoiesis of chronic myeloid leukemia.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Ematologia e Oncologia Medica Lorenzo e Ariosto Seràgnoli, University of Bologna, Medical School, Bologna, Italy. gbrusa@alma.unibo.it
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brusa
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Campanini
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Calabrò
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zuffa
authors.forename: Enza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.forename: Maria Alessandra
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Santucci
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D001549:Benzamides; D015870:Gene Expression; D016313:Genes, abl; D016158:Genes, p53; D006801:Humans; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D020014:K562 Cells; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001549:Benzamides; D010879:Piperazines; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011743:Pyrimidines; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases