CPT-11 (SN-38) chemotherapy may be selectively applicable to biliary tract cancer with low hMLH1 expression

Biliary tract cancer is of highly malignancy with a poor 5-year survival. However, established chemotherapeutic regimens have not yet been established. Previously, we have reported that hMLH1, a mismatch repair (MMR) gene was frequently (57%) found to be lacking in surgically resected biliary tract carcinomas and the patients lacking the expression of hMLH1 revealed a poorer prognosis than those patients who possessed it. The MMR gene has been considered to be associated with sensitivity to various chemotherapeutic agents that act on DNA. A loss of MMR expression has been reported to increase sensitivity to topoisomerase inhibitors such as etoposide (ETP) or camptothecins (CPT). In the present study, whether or not hMLH1 deficiency resulted in a higher sensitivity to irinotecan (CPT-11) active form (SN-38) was investigated using a short interfering (Si)RNA system. A quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was conducted to measure the levels of hMLH1 expression in seven cancer cell lines, and this was compared with the drug sensitivity (IC50) to SN-38. The hMLH1 expression was correlated with the IC50 for SN-38, although the relationship was not statistically significant (R = 0.717, p = 0.0715). SiRNA double strand RNA (dsRNA) was transiently transfected into KMG-C (gallbladder cancer) cells. hMLH1 mRNA expression was repressed by hMLH1 dsRNA in a dose-dependent manner in comparison to the control dsRNA. The cell growth of the hMLH1 dsRNA transfected group was decreased by approximately 50% by SN-38 exposure. Flow cytometry was also carried out to examine the effect of the SN-38 treatment on the cell cycle. Following hMLH1 dsRNA transfection, the subG1 fraction was increased in comparison with the control in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, a low expression of hMLH1 in biliary tract cancer may aid in predicting its responsiveness to CPT-11 (SN38).