Myeloprotection by Cytidine Deaminase Gene Transfer in Antileukemic Therapy

Myeloprotection by Cytidine Deaminase Gene Transfer in Antileukemic Therapy

Blog Article

Gene transfer of drug resistance (CTX-R) genes can be used to protect the hematopoietic system from the toxicity of anticancer chemotherapy and this concept recently has been proven by overexpression of a mutant O6-methylguaninemethyltransferase in the hematopoietic system of glioblastoma patients treated with temozolomide.Given its protection capacity against such relevant drugs as il barone wine cytosine arabinoside (ara-C), gemcitabine, decitabine, or azacytidine and the highly hematopoiesis-specific toxicity profile of several of these agents, cytidine deaminase (CDD) represents another interesting candidate CTX-R gene and our group recently has established the myeloprotective capacity of CDD gene transfer in a number of murine transplant studies.Clinically, CDD overexpression appears particularly suited to optimize treatment strategies for acute leukemias new belial model and myelodysplasias given the efficacy of ara-C (and to a lesser degree decitabine and azacytidine) in these disease entities.This article will review the current state of the art with regard to CDD gene transfer and point out potential scenarios for a clinical application of this strategy.In addition, risks and potential side effects associated with this approach as well as strategies to overcome these problems will be highlighted.