Non-ionic detergent Tween 80 modulates VP-16 resistance in classical multidrug resistant K562 cells via enhancement of VP-16 influx

The non-ionic detergent Tween 80, which is used as a solvent for lipophilic drugs such as VP-16 and Taxotere, was found to reverse VP-16 resistance of the P-glycoprotein-associated multidrug resistance phenotype via increasing VP-16 influx. In adriamycin-resistant human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cells (K562/ADM), which overexpress mdr1 mRNA, the accumulation of VP-16 was only about 10% that in wild-type K562 cells. Tween 80 enhanced VP-16 accumulation in K562/ADM cells but did not influence VP-16 accumulation in parental K562 cells. VP-16 efflux was rapid and similar in both sensitive and resistant cell lines and was not blocked by Tween 80 or verapamil. Under glucose-free conditions, VP-16 accumulation in K562/ADM cells was only half of that in K562 cells. Tween 80 increased VP-16 accumulation in K562/ADM cells in glucose-free medium. In growth inhibition assay, Tween 80 reversed K562/ADM sensitivity to VP-16 without cell damage. Taken together, Tween 80 reverses VP-16 sensitivity in multidrug-resistant K562 cells by increasing influx, which is considered to be the primary mechanism of VP-16 resistance in K562/ADM cells.