Cleaved Caspase-3 Ab From Cell Signaling Was Used as a Marker of Cell Apoptosis After DMAG-17 Chemotherapy Treatment.

Activation of endogenous retrotransposons frequently occurs in cancer cells and contributes to tumor genomic instability. To test whether inhibition of retrotranspositions has an anticancer effect, we used treatment with the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) stavudine in mouse cancer model MMTV-HER2/Neu that spontaneously develops breast cancer. Treatment with 17-DMAG as chemotherapy of mice with established tumors resulted in complete responses in most of the animals. The antitumor effect of 17-DMAG was associated with the induction of apoptosis manifested by IHC detection of activated caspase 3.