Inhibiting hTERT antisense oligodeoxynucleotide changes proliferation and telomerase activity of HL-60 cells

Objective. To investigate the inhibition of hTERT antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ASODN) on the proliferation and telomerase activity in HL-60 cells and to explore the relationship between the telomerase activity and the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene in HL-60 cells. Methods. hTERT expression was detected by RT-PCR after treated with ASODN, the morphological changes of HL-60 cells was observed with inverted microscopy, the cell proliferation was measured by MTT method, and the telomerase activity was determined with TRAP-ELISA and TRAP-PAGE. Results. Treated with ASODN for 72 hours, the hTERT gene was significantly inhibited, the cell growth was depressed and the ability of proliferation was decreased, and the effect was specific in sequence and showed con centration-dependent and time-dependent. OD 450-690 values were 1.504 ± 0.47, 1.223 ± 0.39, 0.944 ± 0.16 respectively, as the cells were treated with 10, 20, 30 µmol/L ASODN for 72 hours. The difference was significant when the 10, 20, 30 µmol/L groups were compared with untreated group (2.648 ± 0.42) respectively (P 0.05). TRAP-PAGE detection revealed that the telomerase activity in ASODN groups was decreased compared with SODN groups, and decreased the most was in the group of 30 µmol/L ASODN. Conclusion. The hTERT ASODN may inhibit the proliferation and down-regulate the telomerase activity in HL-60 cells by sealing the expression of hTERT gene. [Life Science Journal. 2007; 4(3): 17 – 21] (ISSN: 1097 – 8135).