Appendix B 
Scientific Abstract 
SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACT 
Replication incompetent, recombination incompetent retroviral 
vectors will be used to introduce chemotherapy resistance cDNAs 
into the normal stem cells of autologous peripheral blood and 
marrow cells removed and stored following chemotherapy delivered to 
patients with ovarian cancer who are poor risk (second look 
positive) , and therefore at very high risk of relapse (80%) . We 
estimate that between 0.6 and 2 x 10 6 CD34 positive cells/kg will 
be infused and that among these, 10% of the 30% of the total cells 
infused will be exposed to a MDR-1 containing vector and therefore 
will be modified with the MDR-1 cDNA. Therefore, 2,000 and 200,000 
cells will be marked with MDR-1 cDNA in the autologous cells used 
for transplant. We will look for the number of MDR-1 marked cells 
using a methylcellulose late progenitor colony culture system and 
a PCR assay for the MDR-1 gene used previously. In addition, we 
will monitor the acquisition of chemotherapy resistance by stem 
cells of varying degrees of immaturity by using culture assays for 
these cells under chemotherapy selection (methylcellulose assay and 
colonies grown from Dexter cultures for more than 35 days, using 
PCR, antibodies for gP170, and functional assays for the efflux 
pump coded for by MDR-1) . These studies will help us evaluate if 
introduction of MDR-1 cDNA into peripheral blood or marrow cells 
will confer chemotherapy resistance on these cells, thus allowing 
therapy of a greater level of intensity to be delivered and 
therefore change the course of poor prognosis ovarian cancer. 
Recombinant DNA Research, Volume 17 
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