Here we demonstrate that treatment with SAHA (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid), a known inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDACs), alone induced p21 and/or p27 expressions but decreased the mRNA and protein levels of Bcr-Abl, which was associated with apoptosis of Bcr-Ablexpressing K562 and LAMA-84 cells. Cotreatment with SAHA and imatinib (Gleevec) caused more down-regulation of the levels and auto-tyrosine phosphorylation of Bcr-Abl and apoptosis of these cell types, as compared with treatment with either agent alone (P < .05). This finding was also associated with a greater decline in the levels of phospho-AKT and Bcl-x L . Significantly, treatment with SAHA also down-regulated Bcr-Abl levels and induced apoptosis of CD34 ؉ leukemia blast progenitor cells derived from patients who had developed progressive blast crisis (

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