Detection and characterization of membrane protein changes in multidrug resistant HL-60 cells

Antisera were prepared against fractionated membrane proteins of HL-60 cells isolated for resistance to adriamycin. Analysis of these antisera revealed that one (GSBl) was capable of detecting major protein changes in three independent isolates selected for anthracycline resistance. Thus, in studies using western blot analysis, the antiserum was found to be reactive with two proteins of 130 and 150 kDa which are present in plasma membranes of resistant but not sensitive cells. The antibody also reacted with a plasma membrane protein of 180 kDa that is present in sensitive cells but is increased in resistant isolates. Additional studies showed that P180 was greatly increased in both plasma membranes and endoplasmic reticulum in sensitive cells induced to differentiate in the presence of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol13-acetate (TPA). Resistant cells treated under identical conditions showed only a slight increase in the levels of P180. TPA had no effect on the levels of P150 or P130. In contrast, differentiation of HL-60 cells in the presence of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) resulted in the induction of P150 expression with major levels of protein contained in plasma membranes. DMSO has essentially no effect on the levels of plasma membrane P180, P150, or P130 in HL-60/Adr cells. These results therefore demonstrate a strong correlation between the development of resistance and the overexpression of proteins reactive with the GSBl antiserum. The results also show that development of anthracycline resistance in HL-60 cells results in the overexpression of P150, a protein associated with the differentiation of myeloid cells to granulocytes.