Arginine deiminase inhibits proliferation of human leukemia cells more potently than asparaginase by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis

• Published in: Leukemia Vol. 14; no. 5; pp. 826 - 829
• Main Authors: GONG, H, ZÖLZER, F, VON RECKLINGHAUSEN, G, HAVERS, W, SCHWEIGERER, L
• Format: Conference Proceeding Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing 01.05.2000; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Agents - toxicity; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Arginine; Arginine deiminase; Asparaginase; Asparaginase - toxicity; Biological and medical sciences; Cell cycle; Cell Cycle - drug effects; Cell death; Cell Division - drug effects; Cell growth; Cell proliferation; Child; Chromatography; Enzymes; General aspects; HL-60 Cells; Humans; Hydrolases - isolation & purification; Hydrolases - toxicity; Jurkat Cells; L-asparaginase; Leukemia; Leukemia, B-Cell; Lymphatic leukemia; Lymphocytes - drug effects; Lymphocytes - pathology; Medical sciences; Microorganisms; Mycoplasma - enzymology; Oncology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Potassium; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - blood; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - pathology; Proteins; Tumor cell lines; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Berlin Germany; Sweden; Germany; Antineoplastic agent; Cell proliferation; Arginine deiminase; Mollicutes; Mycoplasmatales; Lymphoproliferative syndrome; Cell cycle; Established cell line; Bacteria; Inhibition; Acute lymphocytic leukemia; Human; Enzyme; Acute; Malignant hemopathy; Mycoplasma; In vitro; Mycoplasmataceae; HL60 cell line; Shutdown; Microbial origin; Cell death; Hydrolases; Asparaginase; Apoptosis; Acute myelocytic leukemia
• ISSN: 0887-6924; 1476-5551
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.leu.2401763

L-Asparaginase is used for the treatment of acute leukemias, but is sometimes ineffective or associated with severe side-effects. We report here that the enzyme arginine deiminase is approximately 100-fold more potent than L-asparaginase in inhibiting the proliferation of cultured human lymphatic leukemia cell lines while it appears to be less effective in leukemia cells of myeloid origin. The inhibition of cell proliferation involves cell growth arrest in the G1- and/or S-phase and eventually apoptotic cell death. Our results suggest the possibility of a future use of arginine deiminase for the therapy of leukemia.