Vindesine receptors in cells of a human leukaemia cell line

To determine whether vindesine receptors are present in human leukaemic cells, K562 cells (established from chronic myelogenous leukaemia in blastic crisis) were incubated with 3H-vindesine. Binding of 3H-vindesine increased with incubation time and with increase in number of K562 cells. However, when excessive amounts of nonradioactive vindesine were added, the 3H-vindesine was displaced. Binding of 3H-vindesine was only inhibited by vinblastine, vincristine and vindesine. These results suggest that K562 cells have receptors for vindesine and that these receptors are common to vinca alkaloids. Scatchard analysis showed that the number of vindesine receptors differed according to the kind of cells tested. K562 and a T-cell leukaemia-derived cell line, MOLT-4, had more receptors than an acute promyelocytic leukaemia-derived cell line, HL-60, and normal blood lymphocytes. The degree of vindesine affinity to receptors did not differ markedly among the above-mentioned cells.