The anti-cancer peptide, PNC-27, induces tumor cell necrosis of a poorly differentiated non-solid tissue human leukemia cell line that depends on expression of HDM-2 in the plasma membrane of these cells.

Goals: We have developed the anti-cancer peptide, PNC-27, which is a membrane-active peptide that binds to the HDM-2 protein expressed in the cancer cell membranes of solid tissue tumor cells and induces transmembrane pore formation in cancer, but not in normal cells, resulting in tumor cell necrosis that is independent of p53 activity in these cells. We now extend our study to non-solid tissue tumor cells, in this case, a primitive, possible stem cell human leukemia cell line (K562) that is also p53-homozygously deleted. Our purpose was twofold: to investigate if these cells likewise express HDM-2 in their plasma membranes and to determine if our anti-cancer peptide induces tumor cell necrosis in these non-solid tissue tumor cells in a manner that depends on the interaction between the peptide and membrane-bound HDM-2.