Apoptin Overexpression Efficiently Amplified Cytotoxic Effects of PI3K Inhibition Using BKM120 in Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cell Lines.

Although the complex structure of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and involvement of diverse pathways in its pathogenesis have put an obstacle in the way of efficient treatments, identification of strategies to manipulate the genome of neoplastic cells has made the treatment prospective more optimistic. To evaluate whether the transduction of apoptin __a gene encoding a protein that participates in the induction of apoptosis__ could reduce the survival of leukemic cells, we generated recombinant lentivirus expressing apoptin, and then, MTT assay, flow cytometric analysis of DNA content, western blotting, and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were applied. Transduction of apoptin into different leukemic cells was coupled with the reduction in the viability and proliferative capacity of the cells.