Flavopiridol downregulates the expression of both the inducible NO synthase and p27kip1 in malignant cells from B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Flavopiridol, an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases and other protein kinases, induces in vitro apoptosis of malignant cells from B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). Previously, we reported that nitric oxide (NO), produced by an inducible NO synthase (iNOS), spontaneously expressed by the B-CLL cells, contributed to their deficiency in apoptosis. In the present work, we show that ex vivo treatment of leukemic cells from B-CLL patients with flavopiridol results in the inhibition of iNOS expression, as determined by immunofluorescence and Western blotting, and in a marked inhibition of NO production measured in situ with a specific fluorescent probe (DAF-2 DA). These effects are accompanied by membrane, mitochondrial and nuclear events of apoptosis. Flavopiridol exposure also results in the stimulation of caspase 3 activity and in caspase-dependent cleavage of p27kip1, a negative regulator of the cell cycle, which is overexpressed in B-CLL. Thus, flavopiridol is capable of downregulating both iNOS and p27kip1 expression in B-CLL cells. Furthermore, flavopiridol-promoted apoptosis is partly reverted by an NO donor, suggesting that inhibition of the NO pathway could participate in the apoptotic effects of flavopiridol on the leukemic cells.