The effect of vinca alkaloids in enhancing the sensitivity of a methotrexate-resistant (L1210/R7A) line, studied by flow cytometric and chromosome number analysis.

Two L1210 murine lymphoma cell lines sensitive and resistant to methotrexate (L1210 and L1210/ R7A , respectively) and previously shown to exhibit collateral sensitivity to the vinca alkaloids have been studied by flow cytofluorimetric techniques following propidium iodide staining of the DNA. Following treatment with a range of concentrations of vincristine, both cell lines showed a build-up of fluorescence in the 4n position. However, the methotrexate-resistant cell line exhibited this effect at lower doses of vincristine. On an equimolar basis, the vinca alkaloids ranked for intensity of this effect in the order vinblastine greater than vindesine greater than vincristine. DNA fluorescent histograms following various times of continuous exposure to vincristine showed an accumulation of material at the 8n position, which was shown by chromosome analysis to be due to polyploidy. It was concluded that methotrexate-resistant cells (L1210/ R7A ) experience difficulty in traversing mitosis and this difficulty is enhanced by the vinca alkaloids.