Arsenic trioxide inhibits p-glycoprotein expression in multidrug-resistant human leukemia cells that overexpress the MDR1 gene

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) on the apoptosis and p-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression of multidrug-resistant human leukemia cells. METHODS: Human multidrug-resistant leukemia cell line K562/ADM overexpressing the MDR1 gene, was used as the target cells. The cell proliferating activity was assessed using the MTT colorimetric assay. Cytomorphology was investigated under light, confocal and electron microscopes. DNA fragmentation was examined using agarose gel electrophoresis, while p-gp expression, cell cycle status and sub-G1 cells were determined using flow cytometry. RESULTS: Zero point five to 20 micromol/L As(2)O(3) inhibited the proliferation of K562/ADM cells, and K562/ADM cells were more sensitive to As(2)O(3) than the parental K562 cells. As(2)O(3)-induced apoptosis of K562/ADM cells was determined by the observance of typical morphological changes and the appearance of DNA ladder and sub-G1 cell populations. As(2)O(3) significantly inhibited the P-gp expression of K562/ADM cells, and synergistically enhanced the sensitivity of the drug-resistant cells to adriamycin. CONCLUSIONS: As(2)O(3) induces growth-inhibition and apoptosis, down-regulates P-gp expression and exerts a synergistic effect in combination with adriamycin in multidrug-resistant leukemia cells.