[Combinational effects of bcl-2 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide and Rituximab on proliferation and apoptosis of B-lymphoma Raji cells].
OBJECTIVE
To study the combinational effects of bcl-2 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (bcl-2 ASODN) and Rituximab (anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody) on proliferation and apoptosis of B-lymphoma Raji cells in vitro and in vivo, and to explore the possible mechanisms.


METHODS
After bcl-2 ASODN and Rituximab treating on Raji cells respectively or cooperatively, the proliferation of Raji cells, the expression of bcl-2 protein, the apoptosis and the expression of bcl-2 mRNA were detected by MTT assay, flow cytometry (FCM) and RT-PCR, respectively. The combinational antitumor activity of bcl-2 ASODN and Rituximab was evaluated in BALB/c nude mice bearing B-lymphoma inoculated with Raji cells.


RESULTS
5-30 micromol/L bcl-2 ASODN and 1-16 mg/L Rituximab could inhibit Raji cells' growth, induce apoptosis and decrease the expression of bcl-2 protein and bcl-2 mRNA alone. But there was much more effective inhibition of growth and induction of apoptosis by their combination than alone (P<0.01). In tumor bearing mice, combination of bcl-2 ASODN and Rituximab showed a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of transplanted B-lymphoma, resulting in a statistically significant difference compared with alone (P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
It has been found that bcl-2 ASODN combined with Rituximab could significantly inhibit the growth of Raji cells and induce their apoptosis via reinforcing specific down regulation of bcl-2 protein and bcl-2 mRNA expression.
Shen
Yong-mei
YM
Department of Radioimmunoassay Center, Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China. yongmei_shen@yahoo.com
Yang
Xiao-chun
XC
Shi
Yi-zhen
YZ
Xie
Xiao-fang
XF
Tang
Jun
J
D000818:Animals; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D000069283:Rituximab
D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D000069283:Rituximab