Arsenic trioxide selectivity induces apoptosis within the leukemic cells of APL patients with t (15;16) translocation

Abstract

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia is a sub type of acute myelogenous leukemia that occurs in about 10-15 of patients with AML. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) as a single agent can induce remission in relapsed and newly diagnosed patients. Among all the arsenic putative functions responsible for these clinical responses, induction of differentiation and apoptosis with low and high doses are the most prominent mechanisms respectively. To evaluate the in vivo apoptotic pattern in leukemic cells of APL patients a single-laser, triple-color flowcytometric method was used, to detect leukemic apoptotic cells in a heterogeneous population of bone marrow samples with Annexin V and 7AAD. A substantial apoptosis which was selectively induced in Promyelocytic cells was detected during the early and middle stages of treatment. © 2006 Asian Network for Scientific Information