Enhancement of sensitivity to adriamycin in resistant P388 leukemia by the calmodulin inhibitor trifluoperazine

Resistance to the cytotoxic effects of daunomycin and Adriamycin (ADR) in sublines of Ehrlich ascites and P388 mouse tumors has been demonstrated to be due to reduced cellular accumulation and retention of drug. In this study, the effect of the calmodulin inhibitor trifluoperazine on the cellular accumulation, retention, and cytotoxic effects of ADR in ADR-sensitive (P388/S) and ADR-resistant (P388/R) P388 mouse leukemia cells was determined. In cells treated in suspension culture for 24 hr or for 1 hr followed by plating in soft agar, a noncytotoxic concentration of 4 microM trifluoperazine, enhanced the sensitivity to ADR 2- to 6-fold in P388/R but not in P388/S cells. A marked enhancement in cellular retention rather than accumulation of ADR in only P388/R cells was obtained with trifluoperazine treatment. This study suggests the possible novel use of phenothiazines to improve drug sensitivity of tumors resistant to ADR treatment.     

Correlation of tumor growth inhibitory activity of macrophages exposed to adriamycin and adriamycin sensitivity of the target tumor cells

Variant cell lines of the murine fibrosarcoma UV-2237, selected for doxorubicin [adriamycin (ADM)] resistance, were used to study the tumoricidal activity of macrophages that had been exposed to ADM. Free ADM (0.01-1 microgram/ml) was cytotoxic to the sensitive UV-2237M parent and to the partially sensitive UV-2237M-revertant cell lines, whereas the ADM-resistant UV-2237M ADMR line was unaffected by these levels of ADM. Macrophages harvested from the peritoneal cavities of mice given ip injections of 10 mg ADM/kg body weight 1 day or 4 days previously inhibited proliferation of the 3 cell lines, an effect that was directly correlated to the degree of ADM sensitivity of each cell line. Macrophages exposed in vitro to ADM (from 0.01 to 1 microgram/ml) inhibited the growth of, and eventually were cytolytic to, the parent and the revertant cell lines; these ADM-exposed macrophages did not affect the UV-2237M-ADMR cell line. The correlation between the antitumor effects of macrophages exposed to ADM and the ADM susceptibility of tumor cells suggests that ADM-exposed macrophages exert their effect by the release or transfer of the stored drug.     

DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADRIAMYCIN RESISTANT MURINE TUMOR S-180 CELL LINE IN VIVO

Adriamycin resistant cells were obtained from low dotage treated BABL/c mice Inoculated with S-180 cells. Resistance of these cells for adriamycin was 66-fold more than their parental cells. The resistance for a typical DNA topoisomerase Ⅱ inhibitor VP16 (Etopcaide) was increased 9 times. Overexpression of multidrug resistant gene (MDR gene) products, P-glycoproteins (P-1 70), was also demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the ability of the resistant cells to reduce net cellular drug accumulation measured by flow fluorescence cytometry was 89-fold higher than their parental cells. These results support the hypothesis that the resistance of S-180R cells to adriamycin was mainly due to the overexpression of P-glycoproteins. The S-180R cells will be useful to select drugs or some other therapeutic strategies to overcome multidrug resistance in vivo.     

Enhancement of Fas-mediated apoptosis in renal cell carcinoma cells by adriamycin

Anti-Fas monoclonal antibody (mAb) kills Fas-expressing cells by apoptosis. Several anticancer agents also mediate apoptosis and may share common intracellular pathways leading to apoptosis with Fas. Thus, we reasoned that combination treatment of drug-resistant cells with anti-Fas mAb and drugs might overcome their resistance. We investigated whether anticancer agents enhance Fas-mediated apoptosis and cytotoxicity against renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells. Treatment of ACHN RCC cells with anti-Fas mAb in combination with 5-fluorouracil, vinblastine, IFN-alpha, or IFN-gamma did not overcome resistance to these agents. However, combination treatment with anti-Fas mAb and Adriamycin (ADR) resulted in a synergistic cytotoxic effect. Furthermore, synergy was also obtained even when the exposure time was shortened from 24 h to 8 or 2 h. Synergy was also achieved in four other RCC cell lines and five freshly derived human RCC cells. Treatment with anti-Fas mAb in combination with epirubicin or pirarubicin also resulted in a synergistic cytotoxic effect on ACHN cells. Similar results were achieved with a combination of humanized anti-Fas mAb and ADR. Incubation of ACHN cells with ADR augmented the expression of Fas and p53, but not Bcl-2, Bax, or caspase-3. However, the activity of caspase-3 itself was apparently enhanced after treatment with ADR alone or combined treatment with anti-Fas mAb. The synergy obtained in cytotoxicity with anti-Fas mAb and ADR was also achieved in apoptosis. Exposure of ACHN cells and freshly derived RCC cells to ADR enhanced their susceptibility to lysis by peripheral blood lymphocytes and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. This study demonstrates that combination treatment of RCC cells with anti-Fas mAb and ADR might overcome their resistance. The sensitization required a low concentration of ADR and a short exposure time, thus supporting the potential in vivo application of a combination of ADR and anti-Fas mAb or immunotherapy in the treatment of ADR- and/or immunotherapy-resistant RCC.     

Enhancement by retinoic acid of the sensitivity of different tumor cell lines to the sialic acid-specific toxin of Entamoeba histolytica

Treatment of several tumor cell lines, including the murine melanomas B16 and S91 and the human sarcoma Hs791 and Hs705, with retinoic acid resulted in an increased sialylation of specific cell surface membrane sialoglycoproteins. This treatment also augmented the sensitivity of these cells to the cytopathic effects of a sialic acid-specific toxin from Entamoeba histolytica. In contrast, a similar treatment with retinoic acid of a retinoic acid-resistant mutant clone S91-C154, which does not increase sialylation of cell surface glycoproteins, failed to alter the susceptibility of the cells to the E. histolytica toxin. These results imply that cell surface sialoglycoproteins serve as receptors for the amoebic toxin.     

GSH, GSH-related enzymes and GS-X pump in relation to sensitivity of human tumor cell lines to chlorambucil and adriamycin

Glutathione (GSH) contents and activities of glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GSH-RD), glutathione peroxidase (GSHpx) and glutathione conjugate export pump (GS-X pump) were determined in eight human tumor cell lines with different sensitivities to adriamycin and chlorambucil. Correlations between sensitivities of the human tumor cells to adriamycin and chlorambucil and the glutathione related factors were analyzed statistically. Sensitivities of the human tumor cells to chlorambucil were found to be correlated to all the glutathione related factors tested (r=0.68-0.88). IC50 values of adriamycin were also positively correlated to GSH contents and activities of GSH-RD, GSHpx and GS-X pump with r values ranging from 0.66 to 0.77 but not to GST activity (r=0.25). Chang liver cells with highest GSH content and highest activities of GST, GSH-RD, GSHpx and GS-X pump were most resistant to both adriamycin and chlorambucil. These data suggested that glutathione related factors may work as an overall detoxification system participating in the detoxification of anticancer drugs such as adriamycin and chlorambucil, and to be involved in cellular resistance to these drugs.     

Alterations in murine host defense functions by adriamycin or liposome-encapsulated adriamycin

Peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) from C57BL/6 mice were collected on different days following an i.p. injection of Adriamycin (10 mg/kg) as free drug (ADM) or encapsulated in multilamellar liposomes (ADM/Lip). Macrophages harvested from mice at various times (Days 4-14) after either drug treatment were responsive to in vitro lipopolysaccharide induction of tumoricidal activity, maximum response being seen on Day 7. In addition, 18 days after treatment, significant macrophage tumoricidal activity was observed only in the ADM/Lip-treated group. When supernatants from cultures of PEC obtained 7 days after treatment were assayed for interleukin 1 following lipopolysaccharide stimulation, activity was found with both ADM- and ADM/Lip-treated cells. Without lipopolysaccharide stimulation, only PEC from ADM-treated mice elaborated factor(s) with interleukin 1-like activity. Both ADM and ADM/Lip induced significant PEC-natural killer (PEC-NK) activity by Day 4, while the ADM/Lip treatment sustained PEC-NK activity more effectively than free drug at later time points (7 or 11 days posttreatment). Drug-induced PEC-NK activity (Day 7) was (a) ablated by treatment in vitro with anti-asialo GM1 antibody and complement, and (b) associated with a population of PEC nonadherent to plastic. A transient suppression of splenic NK activity was seen 4 days following either ADM or ADM/Lip administration with recovery to control level by Day 7. These data demonstrate that following ADM or ADM/Lip administration some of the changes necessary for macrophage tumoricidal activation must have occurred in vivo. Liposome encapsulation of ADM extended the duration of ADM-induced augmentation of certain host defenses.     

Enhancement of adriamycin cytotoxicity in sensitive and resistant sublines of human tumor cells by calcium antagonists

The effect of the calcium antagonists cepharanthine and verapamil on adriamycin-induced cytotoxicity against sensitive (K 562 and Ov 2780) and resistant (K 562/ADM and AD 10) sublines of human tumor cells was evaluated. Nontoxic concentrations of cepharanthine moderately enhanced adriamycin cytotoxicity against sensitive sublines (2.1-2.5 fold). A significant enhancement (13-26 fold) of drug cytotoxicity was observed when resistant cells were treated with a combination of cepharanthine and adriamycin. The calcium influx blocker verapamil (used for comparison) also enhanced adriamycin cytotoxicity, although to a lesser extent. The fact that enhancement was 6-10 fold greater in resistant then in sensitive cells, as well as the loss of biphasic properties of adriamycin on dose-response curves after combined treatment, indicate that cepharanthine may play a role in overcoming drug resistance in some tumor cells.     

Factors contributing to adriamycin sensitivity in human xenograft tumors: the relationship between expression of the MDR1, GST-pi and topoisomerase II genes and tumor sensitivity to adriamycin.

To study the factors contributing to tumor sensitivity to adriamycin (ADR) in vivo, the relationship between mRNA expression of the MDR1, GST-pi and topoisomerase II genes and tumor response to ADR was examined in six human xenograft tumors derived from two esophageal, two gastric and two colon cancers. A significant tumor response to ADR was observed in two esophageal xenograft tumors of six tumor lines, and one gastric tumor partially responded to ADR. mRNA expression of the MDR1 and GST-pi genes was elevated in five tumor lines including three ADR responsive tumors, whereas mRNA expression of the topoisomerase II gene was detected in all six tested tumor lines. Topoisomerase II mRNA expression levels in ADR responsive tumors were higher compared with those of ADR unresponsive tumors. No significant relationship between mRNA expression of the MDR1 and GST-pi genes and ADR sensitivity was found. In contrast, topoisomerase II mRNA expression was significantly correlated with tumor sensitivity to ADR (p less than 0.01). Moreover, topoisomerase II mRNA expression was significantly correlated with the growth fraction (S-phase fraction) in the cell cycle kinetics (p less than 0.01). These results indicate that topoisomerase II mRNA expression in association with the high growth fraction may be an important in vivo factor to contribute to ADR sensitivity in human tumors.     

Bax基因的过表达上调HCC-9204细胞系对阿霉素的敏感性

目的 探讨Bax基因的过表达是否能够调节HCC-9204细胞系对阿霉素的敏感性。方法 采用一种可诱导性表达系统,MT-Ⅱ调节系统,在外加锌离子（ZnSO4,100μmol/L）的条件下,诱导Bax基因过表达。以克隆形成实验来判断Bax是否能够降低阿霉素处理后肿瘤细胞的克隆存活率,以MTT实验来反映细胞活力的改变,凋亡性细胞死亡的鉴定是通过形态学标准并结合TUNEL和细胞周期的分析加以证实。结果 阿霉素能够显著诱导HCC-9204细胞发生凋亡。TUNEL染色显示典型的凋亡特征如新月体样或环状染色体边集于核膜,胞浆皱缩并且“发泡”,流式细胞仪分析显示,在处理后24h出现显著的亚二倍体峰,Bax能够显著降低阿霉素处理组的克隆存活率,Bax也能够降低药物处理后的细胞活力,呈时间依赖性。结论 Bax基因的过表达能够增加HCC-9204对阿霉素杀伤作用的敏感性。     

十字孢碱促进多柔比星诱导的多药抗药性肿瘤细胞系的凋亡

 【摘要】　目的　明确蛋白激酶C（PKC）活性的抑制是否能促进化疗药物诱导的多药抗药肿瘤细胞系的凋亡。方法　选用口腔鳞癌细胞KB／S及其多药抗药株KB／VCR，常规细胞培养，比较单独或联合PKC抑制剂十字孢碱的情况下，多柔比星（ADM）诱导这2种细胞的凋亡情况。凋亡采用流式细胞术和吖啶橙荧光染色检测，并经电子显微镜观察证实。结果　ADM 0.04 μg／ml，作用36 h有96.68 % KB／S细胞凋亡，作用48 h有64.99 ％的KB／VCR细胞凋亡；将ADM质量浓度增加到0.4 μg／ml和2.0 μg／ml时，KB／VCR细胞凋亡比例分别为69.74 ％和37.18 ％；合用十字孢碱后，凋亡细胞比例分别增加到82.58 ％和47.65 ％，经统计学处理，前者χ 2 = 4.5，P＜0.05；后者χ 2 = 2.2，P＞0.05。这些结果均经电镜和吖啶橙染色证实。结论　耐受凋亡可能是肿瘤细胞多药抗药的机制之一，而PKC抑制剂可解除这种耐受。     

Enhancement of murine lymphokine-activated killer cell activity by retinoic acid

Since retinoids have been suggested to be capable of potentiating immunity, the present study was undertaken to determine the effect, if any, on lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity by retinoic acid, an active metabolite of vitamin A and a differentiation enhancer. Retinoic acid alone was shown to induce no cytotoxicity generated from nylon wool-treated nonadherent murine (BALB/c) splenocytes against natural killer-resistant, LAK-sensitive syngeneic target tumor cells. When combined with human recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2), retinoic acid augmented LAK cell activity in both a dose- and time-dependent manner. The augmentation was detected at 10(-10) M retinoic acid and reached the maximum at 10(-7) M, a greater than 200% increase in lytic activity. Kinetic study revealed that retinoic acid augmented significantly LAK cell activity when incubated in IL-2-containing culture as short as for 6 h before cytotoxicity was measured. The removal of retinoic acid from culture resulted in the loss of the augmentation. Retinoic acid was found to augment LAK cell activity in a wide range of IL-2 concentrations (750-12,000 IU/ml), even at 6,000 IU/ml where the maximal induction of LAK cell activity had been reached. No phenotype or proliferation of LAK cells was altered by the addition of retinoic acid to IL-2-containing culture. However, cellular serine protease activity, measured as N-alpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine thiobenzyl-esterase, in LAK cells was increased by retinoic acid also in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The increase in LAK cellular serine protease activity was significantly correlated with that of augmented LAK cell activity. Overall these results demonstrated that IL-2-induced LAK cell activity was enhanced by retinoic acid and that the augmentation may be mediated by means of enhanced expression of cellular serine protease activity. This study also suggests that, in addition to its use in chemoprevention of cancer, retinoic acid is of potential in adoptive immunotherapy.     

Effect of alterations in permeability by nonionic surfactants on adriamycin cytotoxicity in murine tumor models in vitro

Differential effects of adriamycin cytotoxicity and its cellular uptake were assessed in murine tumor models utilising adriamycin alone and in combination with nontoxic concentrations of nonionic polyoxyethylated lauryl ether surfactants Brij 30 and Brij 35. Parental P388 murine leukemia cell line sensitive to adriamycin, subline of P388 murine leukemia resistant to adriamycin, sarcoma-180 and Ehrlich ascites tumor were employed in this study. The results indicate an enhanced DNA biosynthesis inhibition by adriamycin when used in combination with Brij 30 or Brij 35 in all the murine tumor models. The increase in adriamycin cytotoxicity was due to an increased accumulation of adriamycin observed in the tumor models used. The present investigation demonstrates the necessity of utilising surface-active drug-response modulators to enhance the cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs and circumvent drug resistance.     

Enhancement of drug sensitivity of human malignancies by epidermal growth factor.

We have previously shown that epidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances the in vitro and in vivo sensitivity of human ovarian carcinoma 2008 cells to cisplatin. EGF was found to enhance selectively the in vivo toxicity of cisplatin to 2008 cell xenografts without altering the toxicity of cisplatin to non-malignant target tissues such as the kidney or bone marrow. We now show that recombinant human EGF (rhEGF) enhances the cisplatin sensitivity of cell lines representative of many other types of malignancies in addition to ovarian carcinoma, including cancers of the head and neck, cervix, colon, pancreas and prostate, as well as non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung. In addition, rhEGF was found to sensitise cells to other platinum-containing drugs and several other classes of chemotherapeutic agents. rhEGF sensitised 2008 cells not only to cisplatin, but also to carboplatin and tetraplatin, as well as taxol, melphalan and 5-fluorouracil. We conclude that modulation of drug sensitivity by rhEGF is observed in cell lines representative of many human malignancies and for multiple classes of chemotherapeutic agents, indicating that it alters one or more components of the cellular damage response that are both common between cell lines and classes of drugs and fundamental to survival.     

Enhancement of the antitumor activity of adriamycin by Tween 80

This paper describes the effect of Tween 80 on the antitumor activity and on the distribution of adriamycin in mice. The dilution of adriamycin in a 10% water solution of Tween 80 produced a significant increase of the antitumor activity in mice against ascites tumors (L 1210 leukemia), disseminated leukemias (transplanted leukemias originally induced by Gross leukemai virus and Moloney leukemia virus), and solid tumors (Sarcoma 180, MS-2 sarcoma). In all these experiments the drug was administered i.v., according to different schedules. Higher antitumor activity at the optimal dose and an increase of activity at lower doses were observed in different experimental systems. Toxicity was also slightly enhanced. Tissue distribution was studied in normal mice and in tumor-bearing mice (Gross leukemia and MS-2 sarcoma). In animals give i.v. adriamycin diluted in 10% Tween 80 there was a higher drug concentration in spleen, lung and kidney than there was in mice given the drug in a water solution. In all the other organs examined (heart, liver, small intestine) and in the MS-2 tumor tissue, no significant increase was observed. In L1210 leukemia-bearing mice, i.p. treatment with adriamycin diluted in 10% Tween 80 resulted in a significantly higher toxicity than that which resulted from treatment with adriamycin in a wa ter solution; no increase of antitumor activity was observed.     

Targeted adriamycin delivery to MXT-B2 metastatic mammary carcinoma cells by transferrin liposomes: effect of adriamycin ADR-to-lipid ratio

In the protein-targeted therapy for cancer, transferrin (Tf) is used to reach a selective and specific target in cancer cells. Tf is used conjugated to chemotherapeutic drugs, insulin, toxins, antibodies, polymers, nanoparticles, lipoplexes and liposomes. Using this latter approach, hydrophobically derivatized Tf was incorporated to liposomal bilayers. The biological activity of Tf-liposome was tested using MXT-B2 cells, a metastatic mammary carcinoma cell line. In Tf binding assays, the Scatchard analysis indicated 4.5x10(5) Tf receptors/cell. In cell growth assays, Tf-liposomes stimulated cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, up to a maximum of 32% of the total free Tf stimulation. Following this, we prepared Tf-liposomes encapsulating adriamycin (ADR) at two different ADR-to-lipid ratios. In vitro cytotoxicity assays against MXT-B2 cells gave IC(50) values 2.1-times lower for Tf-liposomal ADR in comparison to control liposomal ADR. However, similar IC(50) values were found for low ADR-to-lipid ratio Tf-liposomal ADR, as well as for control liposomal ADR. The free Tf added in excess increased the IC(50) value of Tf-liposomal ADR by 51%, while the IC(50) value of control liposomal ADR was unaffected, supporting a receptor-mediated mechanism of targeting by Tf. In addition, the lower IC(50) value is correlated with a higher total of ADR accumulation in the cells.     

Increased sensitivity of murine leukemia virus-infected tumor cells to lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity

The cytotoxic sensitivity of murine leukemia virus (MuLV)-infected and noninfected fibrosarcoma cells in syngeneic inbred WKA/Hok rats was compared by in vitro cell-mediated 51Cr release cytotoxicity assay. A highly significant increase in cytotoxic sensitivity of target cells was observe in MuLV-infected tumor cells as compared with noninfected cells when spleen cells from syngeneic tumor-bearing hosts (TBH) were used as a source of effector lymphocytes. The cytotoxicity of spleen cells against MuLV-infected tumor cells was specifically directed to the tumor-associated antigen (TAA), but not to the virus-associated antigen. However, there was no quantitative difference in the amount of TAA on the cell membranes between virus-infected and noninfected tumor cells as measured by a quantitative absorption test of anti-TAA serum. The cytotoxic activity of spleen cells from TBH against MuLV-infected tumor cells was abrogated by the treatment of anti-T-serum plus complement and significantly decreased after trypsin treatment. Spleen cells from normal rats given injections of immune sera from TBH acquired the cytotoxic activity against MuLV-infected tumor cells.     

Enhancement of radiation-induced tumor cell killing by the hypoxic cell toxin SR 4233

SR 4233 (3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazine 1,4-dioxide) is the lead compound in a series of benzotriazine di-N-oxides which exhibit high selective killing of hypoxic mammalian cells in vitro. Drug concentrations to produce equivalent levels of cell killing of SCC VII murine carcinoma cells under hypoxia were nearly 200-fold lower than under aerobic conditions. Following a one hour hypoxic incubation with drug, 20 microM SR 4233 killed 99.9% of SCC VII cells. The hypoxia-specific cytotoxicity of SR 4233 is due to bioreductive metabolism. For in vivo studies, pharmacokinetic measurements showed that drug concentrations well in excess of 20 microM were achievable in SCC VII tumors in mice for approximately one hour after a single injection of SR 4233. Under these conditions, cell killing was considerably enhanced in SCC VII tumors when SR 4233 was combined with a single X-ray dose of 20 Gy. The enhancement was seen whether SR 4233 was given for up to 2 h before or for up to an hour after radiation, and was comparable to the enhanced cell killing achievable with a single large dose of the radiosensitizer misonidazole. While this finding is consistent with the selective killing of at least some subset of hypoxic tumor cells by SR 4233, other interactions between the drug and radiation damage may contribute to the overall effect observed.