Human sarcoma cell lines MES-SA and MES-SA/Dx5 as a model for multidrug resistance modulators screening

The choice of cell lines for multidrug resistance (MDR) modulators screening may affect the results obtained. Screening is most often performed in model systems which employ cell lines derived from haematological malignancies. Cell lines originating from solid tumours are far less popular. In the present work, we aimed to test the usefulness of the drug-sensitive human sarcoma cell line MES-SA, and its multidrug-resistant counterpart MES-SA/Dx5, as a model system for modulators' anti-MDR potency evaluation. Overexpression of P-glycoprotein in the resistant but not in the sensitive cell line was confirmed by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Flow cytometry demonstrated that verapamil and trifluoperazine reduced MDR in MES-SA/Dx5 cells as assessed by the rhodamine 123 accumulation test. Both modulators also restored in MES-SA/Dx5 cells the drug accumulation pattern typical for sensitive cells, as judged by confocal microscopy. We conclude that the MES-SA and MES-SA/Dx5 cell line pair constitute a good model for MDR modulators study.