Altered DNA-cleavage activity of topoisomerase II from WEHI-3B leukemia cells with specific resistance to ciprofloxacin.

In order to investigate the mechanisms of drug resistance arising in tumor cells, we investigated the capacity of fluoroquinolones to inhibit the in vitro growth of WEHI-3B monomyelocytic leukemia cells and then we established a variant of this line (currently maintained in the absence of drug). The line, named WEHI-3B/CPX, expresses a specific resistance to ciprofloxacin (CPX; resistance index=17.3+/-2.2), and does not show cross-resistance with other fluoroquinolones, camptothecin and topoisomerase II inhibitors such as doxorubicin, etoposide and teniposide. Although a little decrease in intracellular accumulation of CPX is observed in WEHI-3B/CPX cells, these cells do not express MDR or LRP markers, and the resistance is not circumvented by verapamil. Purified nuclear extracts from WEHI-3B and WEHI-3B/CPX cells were tested for topoisomerase I catalytic activity and checking in vitro topoisomerase I sensitivity to CPX and camptothecin inhibition, but no difference was observed. As the treatment with CPX showed that the resistant cell line suffers a significantly lower number of breaks in the DNA molecule we also addressed our investigations to the topoisomerase II-dependent DNA cleavage that, in the resistant clone, was found dramatically less susceptible to be enhanced by CPX both in pre-strand and post-strand DNA passage conditions. WEHI-3B/CPX cells do not express any character of multidrug resistance and represent a rare case of specific drug resistance to CPX. The specific resistance to CPX observed in these cells is related to a functional decrease of topoisomerase II cleavage activity. It could be consequent to a decreased binding affinity of CPX for the topoisomerase II--DNA complex or to a decreased affinity or specificity of topoisomerase II for its DNA cleavage sites.