Isolation and characterization of daunorubicin-resistant AML-2 sublines.

An attempt was made to isolate resistant sublines of acute myelogenous leukemia (OCI/ AML-2) cells by chronic exposure to gradually increasing concentrations of daunorubicin in order to determine the mechanism of its resistance to this drug. Four daunorubicin-resistant sublines, AML-2/D100, /D250, /D500, and /D1,000 were isolated. The values of relative resistance of each daunorubicin-resistant AML subline were about 3, 6, 18, and 23-fold, respectively, as compared to the AML-2 line with an IC50 of 5 nM. The daunorubicin-resistant AML-2 sublines also showed cross resistance to various anticancer drugs including another anthracycline doxorubicin, a Vinca alkaloid vincristine, and an epipodophyllotoxin etoposide. A functional assay using flow cytometry showed decreased accumulation of daunorubicin in these sublines as compared to that of AML-2, which was reversed by cyclosporin A or cyanide. The development of the ATP-dependent multidrug resistant phenotype was due to low to high levels of expression of P-glycoprotein (PGP). The major mechanisms of increased PGP appears to be associated with gene amplification. In addition, other mechanisms such as increased stability of protein or mRNA might be involved depending on the concentration of daunorubicin used for selection. However, a multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) was not involved in these resistant sublines. These daunorubicin-resistant AML-2 sublines could provide a useful model for the study of multidrug resistance mediated by PGP.