We have investigated the possibility of overcoming the resistance of human brain tumour cells (HBT20) to etoposide by transferring the normal human topoisomerase II alpha (H-topo II) gene into these cells. H-topo II in a mammalian expression vector containing a glucocorticoid-inducible mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV) promoter was transfected into etoposide-resistant HBT20 cells (HBT20-hTOP2MAM). HBT20 cells transfected with pMAMneo vector alone served as control cells (HBT20-MAM). These were stable transfections. Following a 2 h dexamethasone treatment, H-topo II mRNA expression, protein production, etoposide-induced DNA-protein complex formation and sensitivity to etoposide were increased in HBT20-hTOP2MAM cells compared with control HBT20-MAM cells and with HBT20-hTOP2MAM cells not treated with dexamethasone. However, mRNA and protein levels and cell sensitivity returned to baseline when incubation with dexamethasone was continued for 24 h. This decrease from the 2 h values could not be explained by a loss of the MMTV promoter response to dexamethasone. (H-topo II alpha promoter)-(chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) constructs containing regions -559-0 and -2400-0 were significantly down-regulated in HBT20-hTOP2MAM cells treated for 24 h with dexamethasone compared with dexamethasone-treated control cells. H-topo II mRNA stability after 24 h of dexamethasone treatment was not altered compared with that in control cells. Our data indicate that the exogenously produced H-topo II may have a negative-feedback effect on the endogenous topoisomerase II promoter, causing down-regulation of the endogenous gene.
Phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a stimulator of protein kinase C, dramatically decreased topoisomerase II-reactive drug-induced DNA cleavage in HL-60 human leukemia cells. The effect of staurosporine, an inhibitor of protein kinase C, on drug-induced, topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage was quantified in the same cells. Staurosporine decreased the magnitude of 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide (m-AMSA)- and etoposide-induced DNA cleavage in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Measurement of several parameters of cell proliferation revealed no clear and uniform correlation between staurosporine's inhibition of these parameters and its effects on drug-induced DNA cleavage. A direct comparison with PMA's effects on drug-induced DNA cleavage showed that whereas PMA's inhibition of etoposide-induced cleavage was much greater than its inhibition of m-AMSA-induced cleavage, the magnitude of staurosporine's effect on the cleavage produced by the two topoisomerase II-reactive drugs was similar. Thus, although PMA stimulates protein kinase C and staurosporine inhibits this enzyme, it is unlikely that the actions of either on topoisomerase II-reactive, drug-induced DNA cleavage are mediated directly via protein kinase C. Furthermore, it is likely that the mechanisms by which PMA and staurosporine inhibit topoisomerase II-reactive drug-induced cleavage are different.
HT1080/DR4 (DR4) is a doxorubicin-resistant human fibrosarcoma line that exhibits 150-fold cross-resistance to etoposide but does not overexpress P-glycoprotein (one mechanism of multiple drug resistance). We examined another possible mechanism that could explain resistance to both doxorubicin and etoposide: a quantitative or qualitative alteration in topoisomerase II, the putative nuclear target of these agents. The amount of immunoreactive topoisomerase II present in whole-cell lysates and nuclear extracts was three- to 10-fold lower in DR4 than in HT1080 cells. However, the topoisomerase II in nuclear extracts from both lines was sensitive to the effects of amsacrine (AMSA) and etoposide. Following treatment with AMSA, etoposide, and 5-iminodaunorubicin, topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage in DR4 cells and nuclei was reduced compared with cleavage in HT1080 parent cells and nuclei. The difference between the HT1080 and DR4 lines in AMSA- and 5-iminodaunorubicin-induced cleavage was similar in cells and nuclei and could be due to the lower amount of DR4 topoisomerase II. By contrast, the difference between the HT1080 and DR4 lines in etoposide-induced DNA cleavage was much greater in cells than in nuclei. This finding suggested that cytosolic factors, removed from isolated nuclei, could influence the susceptibility of intact cells to the cytotoxic and DNA-cleaving actions of etoposide. The specific activities of several antioxidant enzymes, components of the cell's defense against free-radical damage that may be produced by doxorubicin or etoposide, were significantly different in HT1080 and DR4 cytosolic extracts. These differences may constitute an additional mechanism of resistance. Regardless, the magnitude of the resistance of DR4 to doxorubicin and etoposide cannot be explained solely on the basis of a topoisomerase II-related mechanism.
HL-60/AMSA is a human leukemia cell line that is 50-100-fold more resistant than its drug-sensitive HL-60 parent line to the cytotoxic actions of the DNA intercalator amsacrine (m-AMSA). HL-60/AMSA topoisomerase II is also resistant to the inhibitory actions of m-AMSA. HL-60/AMSA cells and topoisomerase II are cross-resistant to anthracycline and ellipticine intercalators but relatively sensitive to the nonintercalating topoisomerase II reactive epipodophyllotoxin etoposide. We now demonstrate that HL-60/AMSA and its topoisomerase II are cross-resistant to the DNA intercalators mitoxantrone and amonafide, thus strongly indicating that HL-60/AMSA and its topoisomerase II are resistant to topoisomerase II reactive intercalators but not to nonintercalators. At high concentrations, mitoxantrone and amonafide were also found to inhibit their own, m-AMSA's, and etoposide's abilities to stabilize topoisomerase II-DNA complexes. This appears to be due to the ability of these concentrations of mitoxantrone and amonafide to inhibit topoisomerase II mediated DNA strand passage at a point in the topoisomerization cycle prior to the acquisition of the enzyme-DNA configuration that yields DNA cleavage and topoisomerase II-DNA cross-links. In addition, amonafide can inhibit the cytotoxic actions of m-AMSA and etoposide. Taken together, these results suggest that the cytotoxicity of m-AMSA and etoposide is initiated primarily by the stabilization of the topoisomerase II-DNA complex. Other topoisomerase II reactive drugs may inhibit the enzyme at other steps in the topoisomerization cycle, particularly at elevated concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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