Potential therapeutic role of antagomiR17 for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Recently it was reported that microRNA from the miR-17 ~ 92 family may have a key role in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Here, we designed specific oligonucleotides to target endogenous miR-17 (antagomiR17). In-vitro administration of antagomiR17 effectively reduced miR-17 expression and the proliferation of CLL-like MEC-1 cells. When injected in-vivo in tumor generated by the MEC-1 cells in SCID mice, antagomiR17 dramatically reduced tumor growth and significantly increase survival. Altogether, our results provide the rationale for the use of antagomiR17 as a novel potential therapeutic tool in CLL and in other lymphoproliferative disorders where miR-17 has a driver role in tumor progression. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13045-014-0079-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.