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Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) revolutionized the management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), resistance against TKIs and leukemia stem cell (LSC) persistence remain a clinical concern. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies combining conventional and novel therapies are urgently needed. Since telomerase is involved in oncogenesis and tumor progression but is silent in most human normal somatic cells, it may be an interesting target for CML therapy by selectively targeting cancer cells while minimizing effects on normal cells. Here, we report that hTERT expression is associated with CML disease progression. We also provide evidence that hTERT-deficient K-562 cells do not display telomere shortening and that telomere length is maintained through the ALT pathway. Furthermore, we show that hTERT depletion exerts a growth-inhibitory effect in K-562 cells and potentiates imatinib through …