Assessment of tumor cell sensitivity to mitomycin C by "B23 translocation" assay

Mouse leukemia cells (p388D1) were grown in medium containing various amounts of mitomycin C for 4 h. Cellular localization of protein B23 was detected using an immunofluorescence technique. Translocation of protein B23 from nucleoli to the nucleoplasm was observed with increasing dose of mitomycin C. To study the correlation of B23 translocation and drug resistance, three human colon carcinoma cell lines, HCT116, HCT116b (a line that is natively or intrinsically resistant to mitomycin C), and HCT116-44 (a line with an acquired resistance to mitomycin C), were employed. These cells were incubated with 1--150 micrograms/ml of mitomycin C. The drug concentration that caused 50% of the cells to have complete translocation (IC50) was determined for each cell line. The IC50 values of HCT116, HCT116b and HCT116-44 were 6, 10 and 50 micrograms/ml, respectively. These IC50 values correlate well with the mitomycin C resistant phenotype of these tumor cells as determined by other in vivo and in vitro assays (Willson, et al. (1985) Cancer Res., 45, 5281-5286). These results identify an inverse relationship between the ease of protein B23 translocation and the degree of mitomycin C resistance in human colon carcinoma cells. This relationship applies to cells that have either acquired mitomycin C resistance or intrinsic resistance to the drug.