Selective sensitization of adriamycin-resistant P388 murine leukemia cells to antineoplastic agents following transfection with human DNA topoisomerase II alpha.

Previous studies have demonstrated decreased levels of DNA topoisomerase II alpha protein and messenger RNA in the Adriamycin-resistant P388 murine leukemia cell line P388/ADR/7 compared to the sensitive P388/4 cell line. An allelic fusion event involving the topoisomerase II alpha and the retinoic acid receptor a genes has been identified in these cells that probably contributes to the decreased topoisomerase II activity in P388/ADR/7 cells. However, this allelic mutation may be a minor contributor or even incidental to the resistance phenotype, since these cells display other candidate mechanisms of resistance, including increased P-glycoprotein, increased glutathione-S-transferase activity and an increased onset of DNA repair. To establish a role for topoisomerase II alpha in mediating the Adriamycin resistance phenotype, complementation of the mutant allele was attempted by transfecting the murine P388/ADR/7 cells with a human topoisomerase II alpha expression construct under the control of the human metallothionein IIA promoter. The majority of transfected cell lines that were obtained by selection in hygromycin B contained copies of the integrated expression construct that were rearranged. Only two of thirty-two transfected cell lines were found to contain a single, unrearranged copy of the human topoisomerase II alpha cDNA. P388/ADR/7 cell lines carrying an integrated, intact human topoisomerase II alpha expression vector were more sensitive to Adriamycin, daunorubicin, mitoxantrone, and etoposide, but not to actinomycin D and vincristine compared to control cells transfected with vector alone or cell lines with rearranged topoisomerase II alpha expression constructs. These findings suggest that topoisomerase II alpha is a selective and significant contributor to multifactorial resistance.

Mutation of phosphoserine 389 affects p53 function in vivo.

To study the importance of phosphorylation for p53 transactivation function, we generated mutations at each of its known phosphorylated serine amino acids. Mutations of murine p53 serine residues individually to either alanine or glutamic acid at positions 7, 9, 12, 18, 37, 312, and 389 resulted in equivalent levels of transcriptional activation in standard transient transfection experiments. However, when p53 transcriptional activity was measured in cells that attain G1 arrest upon contact inhibition, wild-type p53 was inactive, and only alteration at serine 389 to glutamic acid resulted in a functional p53 protein. This Ser --> Glu mutant also has an increased ability to bind DNA. Elimination of the phosphorylation site by substitution of an alanine amino acid resulted in loss of transcriptional activity. We also demonstrated that specific phosphorylation of p53 at serine 389 is induced by cyclin E overexpression in high-density cells. Our data establish for the first time that phosphorylation of p53 at serine 389 is important in activating its function in vivo.

Cyclin E restores p53 activity in contact-inhibited cells.

The wild-type p53 protein is a potent growth suppressor when overexpressed in vitro. It functions as a transcriptional activator and causes growth arrest at the G1/S stage of the cell cycle. We monitored p53 transactivation as an indicator of p53 function throughout the cell cycle. We first demonstrate that cells which exhibited contact inhibition of growth lacked p53 transactivation function at high cell density. Since these cells were noncycling, we examined whether the ectopic expression of any cyclin could override contact inhibition of growth and restore p53 transactivation function. The transfection of cyclin E at high cell density stimulated the progression of cells through the cell cycle and restored p53 transactivation function. The transcriptional activity of p53 induced by cyclin E was regulated at the level of DNA binding. Cells that did not show contact inhibition of growth had a functional p53 regardless of cell density. Thus, contact inhibition of cell growth corresponded to a lack of p53 transactivation function and the overexpression of cyclin E in these contact-inhibited cells stimulated cell cycle progression and resulted in p53 transcriptional activity.

The tumor suppressor p53 regulates its own transcription.

The ability of p53 to suppress transformation correlates with its ability to activate transcription. To identify targets of p53 transactivation, we examined the p53 promoter itself. Northern (RNA) analysis and transient transfection experiments showed that p53 transcriptionally regulated itself. A functionally inactive mutant p53 could not regulate the p53 promoter. Deletion analysis of the p53 promoter delineated sequences between +22 and +67 as being critical for regulation. Electrophoretic mobility shift analysis and methylation interference pinpointed the p53 DNA responsive element. When oligomerized in front of a heterologous minimal promoter, this element was regulated by wild-type p53 and not by mutant p53. Point mutations in the DNA element that eliminated protein-DNA interactions also resulted in a nonresponsive p53 promoter. The DNA element in the p53 promoter responsive to p53 regulation is similar to the p53 consensus sequence. However, we have been unable to detect a direct interaction of p53 with its promoter.

Multifactorial resistance to antineoplastic agents in drug-resistant P388 murine leukemia, Chinese hamster ovary, and human HeLa cells, with emphasis on the role of DNA topoisomerase II.

The role of DNA topoisomerase II in multifactorial resistance to antineoplastic agents is reviewed. We have previously observed that in Adriamycin (ADR) resistant P388 murine leukemia cells, DNA topoisomerase II enzyme content and cleavage and catalytic activities were all reduced and correlated with drug sensitivity. A subsequent study provided evidence for an allelic mutation of the gene for DNA topoisomerase II as a possible molecular mechanism underlying the enzyme alterations. To ascertain how universal were these observations, a study was undertaken of DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) in other cell lines resistant either to ADR or another topo-II-interactive drug, mitoxantrone. In ADR-resistant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, topo II cleavage and catalytic activities and the gene product were all reduced; however, only cleavage activity correlated with drug sensitivity. No differences were noted between ADR-sensitive and -resistant CHO cells by Northern or Southern blot analysis, raising the possibility that the enzyme in resistant cells may be regulated at a posttranscriptional level. Findings on a gel retardation or immunoblot band depletion assay showed that the enzyme in CHO/ADR-1 cells failed to bind to the DNA-drug-enzyme complex, suggesting a qualitative as well as quantitative enzyme alteration in those cells. Mitoxantrone-resistant HeLa cells (Mito-1) displayed not only a lower level of cleavage activity but also of enzyme content and catalytic activity, relative to the parental drug-sensitive HeLa cells. As with the CHO cells, no differences were noted between mitoxantrone-sensitive and -resistant HeLa cells on Northern and Southern blot analyses, suggesting that enzyme regulation in these resistant cells may also be at a posttranscriptional level. There was no evidence of enzyme binding to DNA-drug-enzyme complex in resistant HeLa/Mito-1 cells, once again suggesting the presence of a qualitative enzyme alteration. The findings in both ADR-resistant CHO cells and mitoxantrone-resistant HeLa cells do not exclude the possibility that subtle changes in the topoisomerase II gene, such as point mutations, may account for these enzyme changes. The apparent qualitative changes observed in enzyme may result from posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation.

Modulation of melphalan uptake in murine L5178Y lymphoblasts in vitro by changes in ionic environment.

The alkylating agent melphalan is actively transported in mammalian cells by two amino acid transport carriers: the sodium-dependent carrier with substrate preference for alanine-serine-cysteine (system ASC), and a sodium-independent carrier with preference for leucine (system L). The effect of altering the ionic environment of murine L5178Y lymphoblasts was investigated in order to determine not only the direct effects of hydrogen and calcium ions on these transport systems, but also the indirect effects of agents or modulators known to alter intracellular calcium. Melphalan transport followed a bell-shaped distribution curve over a pH range from 3 to 9 with a pH optimum of 4.3 and 4.6 for transport by systems ASC and L, respectively. Those agents that could cause a decrease in cytosolic calcium such as the calcium channel blockers verapamil, diltiazem and nitrendipine, the calcium chelator (ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-aminoethylether) N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) and reduction of pH were found to augment melphalan uptake, whereas conditions that would elevate intracellular calcium such as the calcium ionophore A23187, the calcium channel agonist (-) Bay K 8644, elevation of extracellular calcium and the calcium pump inhibitor trifluoperazine were all found to decrease melphalan uptake. These findings suggest that modification of ionic environment directly or indirectly by agents known to alter intracellular calcium can modulate melphalan uptake.

Evidence for a mutant allele of the gene for DNA topoisomerase II in adriamycin-resistant P388 murine leukemia cells.

Previous studies have shown that DNA topoisomerase II enzyme activity and protein levels are reduced in cloned lines of Adriamycin-resistant P388 leukemia cells relative to drug-sensitive cells (Deffie et al., Cancer Res., 49: 58-62, 1989). The molecular basis of the reduced topoisomerase II levels in these resistant cells has been investigated. Northern blot analysis of total cellular RNA from drug-sensitive and -resistant cells using a 1.8-kilobase human topoisomerase II complementary DNA revealed the presence of two mRNA species: a 6.6-kilobase transcript that was strongly expressed in drug-sensitive cells but reduced 7- to 8-fold in resistant cells; and a 5.5-kilobase transcript detected only in drug-resistant cells. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA digested with BamHI, StuI, or PvuII and probed with the 1.8-kilobase complementary DNA for human topoisomerase II showed that, in Adriamycin-resistant cells, there were two different alleles for topoisomerase II, one identical to the native allele but with a lower gene copy number than that found in sensitive cells, and a second allele containing a mutation present only in resistant cells. These findings suggest that the reduced levels of topo II protein in drug-resistant cells may be due to reduced amounts of the native 6.6-kilobase mRNA. The unique 5.5-kilobase mRNA in resistant cells may represent a shortened transcript of the mutated topoisomerase II allele.

Direct correlation between DNA topoisomerase II activity and cytotoxicity in adriamycin-sensitive and -resistant P388 leukemia cell lines.

The relationship between DNA topoisomerase II activity and drug resistance was studied in cloned cell lines of Adriamycin (ADR)-sensitive and -resistant P388 leukemia; drug resistant P388/ADR/3 (clone 3) and P388/ADR/7 (clone 7) cells are 5- and 10-fold more resistant to ADR than the sensitive cell line P388/4 (Cancer Res., 46: 2978, 1986). Topoisomerase II catalytic activity in crude nuclear extracts was reduced in drug-resistant cells as determined qualitatively by decatenation of kDNA. Using the centrifugal method fo quantitative analysis, topoisomerase II catalytic activity (mean +/- SE) was 81 +/- 10 units/mg total nuclear protein in sensitive cells, 29 +/- 2 units/mg total nuclear protein in resistant clone 3 cells, and 16 +/- 2 units/mg total nuclear protein in resistant clone 7 cells; these differences were highly significant (P less than 0.005). Similarly, quantitative analysis of DNA cleavage activity using 3' 32P-end-labeled pBR322 restriction fragments showed that drug-stimulated topoisomerase II cleavage activity in nuclear extracts from sensitive cells was approximately 1.7- and 2.9-fold greater than that from resistant clone 3 and 7 cells, respectively. Western blot analysis of nuclear extracts from the three cell lines using antibody against the C-terminal half of recombinant-prepared human topoisomerase II polypeptide revealed reduced immunoreactivity of topoisomerase II protein in the drug-resistant cells. These data suggest that reduced topoisomerase II activity in resistant cells, which may represent quantitative reduction of the enzyme, may be another property contributing to multifactorial drug resistance in these cells.

Multifactorial resistance to adriamycin: relationship of DNA repair, glutathione transferase activity, drug efflux, and P-glycoprotein in cloned cell lines of adriamycin-sensitive and -resistant P388 leukemia.

Cloned lines of Adriamycin (ADR)-sensitive and -resistant P388 leukemia have been established, including P388/ADR/3 and P388/ADR/7 that are 5- and 10-fold more resistant than the cloned sensitive cell line P388/4 (Cancer Res., 46: 2978, 1986). A time course of ADR-induced DNA double-strand breaks revealed that in sensitive P388/4 cells, evidence of DNA repair was noted 4 h after removal of drug, whereas in resistant clone 3 and 7 cells repair was observed 1 h after drug removal. The earlier onset of DNA repair was statistically significant (p = 0.0154 for clone 3 cells, and p = 0.0009 for clone 7 cells). By contrast, once the repair process was initiated, the rate of repair was similar for all three cell lines. The level of glutathione transferase activity was determined in whole cell extracts. Enzyme activity (mean +/- SE) in sensitive cells was 9.49 +/- 1.00 nmol/min/mg protein, that in resistant clone 3 cells was 13.36 +/- 1.03 nmol/min/mg, and that in clone 7 cells was 13.96 +/- 1.44 nmol/min/mg; the 1.44-fold increase in enzyme activity in resistant cells was statistically significant (p = 0.01). Further evidence of induction of glutathione transferase was provided by Northern blot analysis using a 32P-labeled cDNA for an anionic glutathione transferase, which demonstrated approximately a twofold increase in mRNA in resistant clone 7 cells. Western blot analysis with a polyvalent antibody against anionic glutathione transferase also revealed a proportionate increase in gene product in resistant cells. Dose-survival studies showed that ADR-resistant cells were cross-resistant to actinomycin D, daunorubicin, mitoxantrone, colchicine, and etoposide, but not to the alkylating agent melphalan; this finding provided evidence that these cells are multidrug resistant. Using a cDNA probe for P-glycoprotein, a phenotypic marker for multidrug resistance, Northern blot analysis showed an increase in the steady state level of mRNA of approximately twofold in resistant clone 3 and 7 cells. Southern analysis with the same cDNA probe showed no evidence of gene amplification or rearrangement. Western blot analysis with monoclonal C219 antibody demonstrated a distinct increase in P-glycoprotein in resistant cells. Efflux of Adriamycin as measured by the efflux rate constant was identical in all three cell lines. Furthermore, the metabolic inhibitors azide and dinitrophenol did not augment drug uptake in either sensitive or resistant cells. These findings suggest that despite the increase in P-glycoprotein, an active extrusion pump was not operational in these cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Involvement of protease in L-glutamine control of nucleic acid and polyphosphate metabolism in cells transformed by 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene, SV40 and H-ras oncogene.

Mammalian cells transformed with either 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene, SV40 or H-ras oncogene dramatically changed their ability to synthesize DNA and RNA and metabolize polyphosphate when L-glutamine was withdrawn from the growth medium or when heat shocked (growth at 42 degrees C). Untransformed, DNA and RNA synthesis decreased by 50-80% when glutamine was withdrawn, but polyphosphate accumulated whether or not glutamine was supplied. Heat shock did not alter this response. Transformed isogenic cells responded differently; at 37 degrees C, they decreased their synthesis of DNA and RNA if starved for glutamine, whereas at 42 degrees C, synthesis was optimal without glutamine. Transformed cells accumulated polyphosphate at 37 degrees C when starved for glutamine, but at 42 degrees C, no polyphosphate accumulated. This apparent non-dependence on glutamine by transformed cells when heat shocked was found to be due to the production of glutamine from serum proteins through induction of a protease(s).