Studies on Chinese hamster ovary mutants showing multiple cross-resistance to oxidative phosphorylation inhibitors

Several stable Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) mutants were selected after ethylmethane sulfonate mutagenesis for resistance to oligomycin, ruatmycin, venturicidin, or antimycin. These mutants shared a number of common properties. They exhibited cross-resistance to those drugs which act on oxidative phosphorylation, irrespective of the structure and site of action of the drug. All the mutants showed a reduced ability to grow in suspension and to reach high saturation densities. They were also unable to use galactose as a carbon source. The short lag period required for selection (10-15 days), the similarity of the mutation rates for resistance to each of the four drugs, the high variance/mean ratios in fluctuation tests, and the recessive behavior of the resistance marker in hybrids suggest that the mutations responsible for resistance to oxidative phosphorylation inhibitors in CHO cells are coded by nuclear DNA. Segregation experiments indicated no linkage between the oligomycin-resistant marker (OLG) AND Thg (thioguanine resistance). Oxidative phosphorylation, as measured by the rate of respiration coupled to phosphorylation in whole cells remained as sensitive to the drugs in the mutants as in the parental cell line. Glucose transport and the overall Krebs' cycle activities also appeared similar in the mutants and the wild type. All the mutants had an increased rate of lactic acid production (up to twofold), associated with increased specific activities for several glycolytic enzymes when assayed in cell-free extracts.