Research Papers:
Drugresistance in doxorubicinresistant FL512 hematopoietic cells: elevated MDR1 drug efflux and sidepopulation positive and decreased BCL2family member expression
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Linda S. Steelman1, Steve L. Abrams1, Peter Ruvolo2,3, Vivian Ruvolo2,3, Lucio Cocco4, Stefano Ratti4, Alberto M. Martelli4, Luca M. Neri5, Saverio Candido6, Massimo Libra6 and James A. McCubrey1
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, SC, USA
2Section of Signal Transduction and Apoptosis, Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, TX, USA
3Current/Present address: Department of Leukemia, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
4Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Neuromotorie, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
5Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
6Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences – Oncological, Clinical and General Pathology Section, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Correspondence to:
James A. McCubrey, email: [email protected]
Keywords: drug transporters; bcl-2; MEK1; p53; cancer stem cells
Received: October 16, 2017 Accepted: November 20, 2017 Published: December 06, 2017
ABSTRACT
Chemotherapeutic drug treatment can result in the emergence of drug-resistant cells. By culturing an interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent cell line, FL5.12 cells in the presence of the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin, we isolated FL/Doxo cells which are multi-drug resistant. Increased levels of drug efflux were detected in FL/Doxo cells which could be inhibited by the MDR1 inhibitor verapamil but not by the MRP1 inhibitor MK571. The effects of TP53 and MEK1 were examined by infection of FL/Doxo cells with retroviruses encoding either a dominant negative TP-53 gene (FL/Doxo+ TP53 (DN) or a constitutively-activated MEK-1 gene (FL/Doxo + MEK1 (CA). Elevated MDR1 but not MRP1 mRNA transcripts were detected by quantitative RT-PCR in the drug-resistant cells while transcripts encoding anti-apoptotic genes such as: BCL2, BCLXL and MCL1 were observed at higher levels in the drug-sensitive FL5.12 cells. The percentage of cells that were side-population positive was increased in the drug-resistant cells compared to the parental line. Drug-resistance and side-positive population cells have been associated with cancer stem cells (CSC). Our studies suggest mechanisms which could allow the targeting of these molecules to prevent drug-resistance.