Apoptotic effect of apoptin gene transduction on multiple myeloma cell line

Introduction: Following the first description of multiple myeloma (MM), as the second most prevalent hematologic malignancy, multiple promising advances have paved the way to increase the long-lasting complete remission for patients. In the era of the novel therapeutic approaches, the cloning of the apoptosis-inducing genes into the genome of malignant cells has attracted tremendous attention. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the anti-cancer effect of apoptin-expressing vector on multiple myeloma-derived KMM-1 cell line. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, we constructed the lenti-viral vector expressing apoptin for transferring this gene into KMM-1 cells. Transduction efficiency and apoptin gene expression were further confirmed by flow cytometric and quantitative real-time PCR analysis, respectively. Afterwards, the anti-survival effect of over-expressed apoptin on KMM-1 cells was also evaluated by applying MTT, and trypan blue assays. Results: The results of flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that the apoptin-expressing vector was successfully transduced into KMM-1 cells, with the transduction efficiency of more than 90%.  In addition, we found that the over-expression of apoptin, as revealed by 8-fold increase in its mRNA level, exerted a remarkable cytotoxic effect in MM cells. The resulting data declared that apoptin expression not only significantly reduced cell viability (P < 0,001) but also potently halted KMM-1 metabolic activity (P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study highlighted the promising anti-cancer effect of lenti-viral vector expressing apoptin in multiple myeloma that may be clinically accessible in the near future.