Recurrent growth factor starvation promotes drug resistance in human leukaemic cells.
Multi-drug resistance can be induced by various environmental stresses including an exposure to chemical drugs and X-ray irradiation. In addition, hypo-nutritive conditions are known to promote multi-drug resistance in solid tumours. To understand the importance of nutritive conditions in the development of drug resistance in non-solid tumours and to know whether a transient malnutrition could induce a permanent reduction in drug sensitivity, leukaemic cells were transiently cultured under growth factor-starved conditions. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-dependent human leukaemic MO7e cells were cultured in the absence of granulocyte-macrophage colon-stimulating factor for 2 weeks, during which the majority of the cells died, and the minor viable cells were expanded in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colon-stimulating factor for following 1 week. This procedure was repeated three times, and the surviving cells were cloned by limiting dilution. These clones underwent G1 arrest in the absence of granulocyte-macrophage colon-stimulating factor, while parental cells underwent apoptosis. Interestingly, activities of the downstream targets of granulocyte-macrophage colon-stimulating factor receptor were regulated in a granulocyte-macrophage colon-stimulating factor-independent manner, indicating that the ligand-independent activation of granulocyte-macrophage colon-stimulating factor receptor had not taken place. Moreover, the 4--7-fold increases in IC(50) for etoposide and the 2--6-fold increase in IC(90) for doxorubicin was observed. Furthermore, Bcl-2 protein expression was significantly up-regulated in the clones while no significant changes in Bax, Bcl-(xL), P-glycoprotein and Hsp70 protein expression and no consistent changes in p53 expression were detected. We propose that recurrent growth factor starvation, which may occur in vivo when stromal function is damaged after intensive chemotherapy or bone marrow occupation by malignant cells, causes selection of drug resistant leukaemia cells that will expand when the growth factor supply recovers.
Saeki
K
K
Department of Hematology, Research Institute, International Medical Center of Japan, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan.
Okuma
E
E
Yuo
A
A
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000494:pharmacology; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000473:pathology*; D008024:Ligands; D009748:Nutrition Disorders; D009857:Oncogenes; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D006133:Growth Substances; D008024:Ligands; D004317:Doxorubicin; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor; D002945:Cisplatin