THE EFFECT OF ANTISENSE TRANSCRIPTS TO BCR/ABL FUSION GENE ON DIFFERENTIATION OF PHILADELPHIA CHROMOSOME-POSITIVE LEUKEMIA CELL LINES

To investigate whether Ph chromosome-positive leukemia cell lines would undergo differe-ntiation after the expression of endogenous bcr/abl fusion gene was inhibited. The recombina-nt plasmids expressing antisense transcripts to bcr/abl fusion gene were transfected into K 562 and BV 173 cell lines by lipofectin reagent. Southern and Northern blot hybridizations as well as nested RT-PCR analysis proved the integration and expression of exogenous DNA in target cells. Antisense transcripts to bcr/abl reduced the level of endogenous bcr/abl mRNA. No my-eolomonocytic and erythroid differentiations were observed in cells with antisense transcripts to bcr/abl. Also no obvious alterations occurred in the expression levels of CD 10 and CD 34 antigens in BV 173 celis and as well as CD 13 and CD 33 antigens in K 562 celis before and after transfection. It was suggested that proliferative inhibition did not always accompanying terminal differentiation.