Demonstration of differential gene expression between sensitive and resistant ovarian tumor cells by fluorescence differential display-PCR analysis.

Chemotherapy plays a major role in cancer management; however, acquired drug resistance remains a significant problem for ovarian cancer treatment. Chemoresistance is regulated by the coordinated expression of a set of genes. Thus, the identification of genes specifically modulated in the process provides an important step toward the discovery of underlying molecular mechanisms in drug resistance events. We recently developed five drug-resistant human ovarian carcinoma cell lines, including two cisplatin (cis) resistant cell lines, two carboplatin (car) resistant cell lines and one taxol (tax) resistant cell line. In this study, we investigated differential gene expression between these resistant cell lines and their parental cell lines by the fluorescence differential display-polymerase chain reaction (FDD-PCR) technique. We first screened and identified differentially expressed genes in the resistant ovarian cancer cell lines, and we then sequenced and analyzed these genes by bioinformatics software. A total of 33 fragments were displayed in the two resistant cell lines (S-cis and S-car) derived from the sensitive SKOV-3 cell line, and 36 fragments were displayed in the three resistant cell lines (A-cis, A-car and A-tax) derived from the sensitive A2780 cell line. After purification, cloning, sequencing, and homology analysis on the NCBI BLAST GenBank, 12 gene fragments were identified from the resistant S-cis and S-car cells, and 23 gene fragments were identified from the resistant A-cis, A-car and A-tax cells. Although a homolog search of the NIH GenBank revealed that most of the gene fragments were not significantly associated with the known drug resistance-related genes, our study conclusively demonstrates that FDD-PCR is a useful tool for analyzing the differential gene expression between resistant and sensitive tumor cells and for identifying novel chemoresistance-associated genes and potential biological markers or genetic markers of drug resistance.

Characterization of the mechanisms of electrochemotherapy in an in vitro model for human cervical cancer.

Electrochemical treatment is among the most effective therapies in the management of cervical malignancy. However, the mechanism of action of this treatment remains largely unknown. Therefore, the purpose of the current project was to establish a suitable eletrochemotherapy regimen for cervical cancer and to investigate the mechanism of the therapy in an in vitro model for human cervical carcinoma. HeLa cells were used as a model for cervical cancer in this study, and the effect of electrochemical treatment on these cells was examined in four different dosage groups (5 V + 5 C, 10 V + 5 C, 5 V + 10 C and 10 V + 10 C). Our results showed that the combinations of lower voltage and higher current (5 V/10 V + 10 C) had a greater anticancer effect in this model as compared to other groups. In addition, we compared the cytotoxic effect between electrochemical treatment and different pH condition treatments in this system, and found that the efficacy of electrochemical treatment in cell killing was better than that of acidic or basic medium treatment. Moreover, we demonstrated that the efficacy of electrochemical treatment was correlated with the degree of ionization and alteration in pH scale. The electrodes were basic on the cathode side which elevated the cations K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+, while the electrodes were acidic on the anode side which reduced the anion Cl-. We also assessed the effect of electrochemical treatment on cell cycle distribution in HeLa cells and showed that the percentage of cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle was increased (G1 arrest), while the cell population in the S phase was decreased. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the levels of the cell cycle regulator cyclin D1 expression were dramatically reduced when 5 V/10 V + 10 C treatments were applied to these cells, as determined by RT-PCR analysis. By contrast, no significant changes in the levels of cyclin B1, CDK1 or CDK4 were detected. Based on these observations, we conclude that the combination of lower voltage and higher current may be a potentially effective eletrochemotherapy regimen for cervical cancer in the clinic, and that the antitumor effect of electrochemical treatment on cervical carcinoma cells is mediated partly via regulating ionization degree, pH state and cell cycle control.

[Establishment of 5 resistant ovarian cancer cell strains and expression of resistance-related genes].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate expression difference of several drug resistance related genes between sensitive and resistant ovarian carcinoma cells. METHODS: Cell lines resistant to cisplatin, carboplatin and taxol were established from ovarian carcinoma cell lines of SKOV3 and A2780, and their biological features were detected. The expressions of several genes related to drug resistance were measured by RT-PCR method. RESULTS: (1) The values of resistance index (RI) of resistant cells to relevant drugs were elevated 3 times or more, with different degrees of cross-resistance to several other drugs (RI 2 approximately 20). They grew more slowly than primary cells (Td elongated 1.4 approximately 2.4 times, P < 0.01) without obvious changes in G(1), G(2), and S ratios (P > 0.05). Intracellular concentrations of relevant drugs were reduced 2.0 approximately 8.5 times in resistant cells (P < 0.05). (2) p53, lung resistance protein-1 (LRP-1), multiple drug resistance related protein-1 (MRP-1) genes were expressed at lower levels in resistant cells than in sensitive cells; while protein kinase C (PKC), topoisomerase (topo) I, and topo II beta were expressed higher, no obvious alterations were found concerning glutathione S transferase-pi (GST-pi), and topo II alpha. Expression of multiple drug resistance-1 (MDR-1) gene was either elevated or reduced in different cells. CONCLUSIONS: The expressions of resistance related genes were widely different in different kinds of resistant cells, suggesting more than one pathway leading to resistance transformation. This adds more difficulties for clinical management.

Development and characterization of five cell models for chemoresistance studies of human ovarian carcinoma.

Platinum agents and paclitaxel (taxol) are among the most effective drugs currently available for treatment of ovarian cancer. One of the hurdles with taxol and platinum- based therapy is the clinical development of resistance to these agents. To investigate the mechanism of drug resistance in human ovarian cancer, we developed and characterized 5 cell models for chemoresistance studies of cisplatin, carboplatin and taxol. We report in this study that these human ovarian carcinoma cell model systems include 2 models for cisplatin resistance, 2 models for carboplatin resistance, and 1 model for taxol resistance. The biological and biochemical characteristics of the models showed that (i), the IC50 values of the drugs for all these resistant cell models were 3 times (or more) higher than those for the parental tumor cells. There also exist varying degrees of cross-resistance to several other chemotherapeutic agents in these systems. Moreover, the intracellular drug accumulations in these cells were significantly reduced as compared to those in the parental cells. (ii), The proliferation rates of these resistant cells were markedly decreased. However, there were no obvious changes in cell cycle distribution in these model systems. (iii), Our results for the expression of a few major drug resistance-related genes revealed that the expression of p53, lrp-1 and mrp-1 was decreased, while the expression of pkc, topo I and topo II beta was increased in the resistant tumor cells as compared with the parental cells. In contrast, no significant alterations in gst-pi and topo II alpha expression were found. Interestingly, the levels of mdr-1 expression were elevated in some models, but were reduced in others, thus suggesting that different pathways are involved in the formation of drug resistance in different cell model systems, and that different mechanisms are responsible for the development of different drug resistances in tumor cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that these models may be potentially used to assess the biochemical and genetic mechanisms of drug resistance in human ovarian cancer and to identify new drug resistance-related genes.