Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
2114337 Cancer Letters 2009 8 Pages PDF
Abstract

Patients with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) have poorer response to conventional chemotherapy and lower survival rates than those with embryonal RMS (ERMS). By high-throughput screening, we identified camptothecin as an ARMS-selective inhibitor. Camptothecin more efficiently inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in Rh30 (ARMS) than RD (ERMS) cells. Ectopic expression of the PAX3–FKHR (PF) fusion protein in RD cells significantly increased sensitivity, whereas siRNA knockdown of PF decreased sensitivity of Rh30 cells to camptothecin. The sensitization required a transcriptionally active PF, and camptothecin downregulated levels of PF protein. These findings suggest that it is feasible to develop agents that preferentially block the growth of ARMS.

Related Topics
Life Sciences Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology Cancer Research
Authors
, , , ,