Effects of IFN on telomerase in primary leukemic blasts and telomerase and c-myc in normal T-lymphocytes.

(A)Effects of IFN-α on hTERT levels and telomerase activity in leukemic blast from patients with ALL (left, upper panel) and AML (left, lower panel). Leukemic blasts were separated using lymphoprep separation, cultured in the presence or absence of IFN-α (5000 U/mL) for the indicated times, where after hTERT levels and telomerase activity were determined. (B) Influence of IFN-α on hTERT levels and telomerase activity and c-myc expression in T-lymphocytes during stimulation with PHA and IL-2. c-myc expression was analyzed by Northern blotting in quiescent (day 0), PHA (day 3), PHA/IFN-α (day 3), IL-2 (24 hours), and IL-2/IFN-α (24 hours)–treated cells. 18S and 28S rRNA serves as a control for equal loading. Data shown are representative of 3 independent experiments. C denotes the competitor band.