Abstract: Aim To explore the effects of bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotide targeting the coding region of the bcl-2 mRNA on apoptosis induced by Vp16 in HL60 and K 562 cells. Methods Drug sensitivity was compared by MTTcy to toxicity assay, and expression of bcl-2 protein and apototic cells were assayed by flow cytometry. Results The bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotide of 10 μmol·L^-1 combined with etoposide inhibited expression of bcl-2 protein, increased apoptosis in HL60 and K 562 cells and decreased IC₅₀ of etoposide; The antisense oligonucleotide targeting the coding region of the bcl-2 mRNA had stronger effection than the antisense oligonucleotide targeting the translation initiation. Conclusion The bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotide targeting the codingregion of the bcl-2 mRNA can enhances etopo side induced apoptosis of HL60 and K 562 cells.

Key words: antisense oligonucleotide, bcl-2, leukemia cells, etoposide, drug sensitivity