We investigated the expression of p53 in paraformaldehyde-lysine-periodate fixed normal and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) hemopoietic cells with flow cytometry and two monoclonal antibodies, PAb1801 and the mutant-conformation-associated PAb240. With both antibodies p53 proteins were detected in more than 50% of CD34+ cells and in more than 95% neutrophils but were undetectable in the CD34- myeloid precursors. The expression of a p53 protein reactive with PAb240 was closely associated with CD34+/HLA-DR+ cells and with cells in active cell cycle, while the p53 protein recognized by PAb1801 was mainly found in CD34+/HLA-DR- cells and in cells in the G0/G1 phases of the cell cycle. Treatment of chronic-phase CML cells with p53 antisense oligonucleotides resulted in significantly increased numbers of granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming unit colonies in 12 of 17 cases studied. Slightly reduced granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming unit colony numbers were observed in one case and no change in the four others. In eight samples of normal bone marrow cells, treatment with antisense oligonucleotides showed no consistent changes in granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming unit numbers. Our data suggest that the expression of the tumor suppressor p53 is involved in the regulation of both normal and CML hemopoiesis and that the inhibition of p53 expression could modulate the proliferation of CML hemopoietic cells and possibly of normal cells.