Biochemical characterization of a mitomycin C resistant colon cancer cell line variant

Resistance may limit the clinical usefulness of a variety of chemotherapeutic drugs including mitomycin C (MMC). The MMC-sensitive HT-29 colon cancer cell line and its MMC-resistant subline, HT-29R13, were studied in vitro under aerobic conditions to help characterize the mechanisms associated with MMC resistance. HT-29R13 cells exhibit approximately 2-fold resistance to MMC compared with HT-29 cells and lack the typical multidrug-resistance pattern; resistance is stable in the absence of drug exposure. Levels of glutathione (GSH) and total glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity were not different between the two cell lines; however, levels of GSH reductase and GSH peroxidase were increased significantly in HT-29R13. Although total GST activity was unchanged, GST-pi and GST-alpha isoenzyme expression as measured using western blot were increased significantly in HT-29R13 compared with HT-29. DT-diaphorase levels and topoisomerase II activity were decreased significantly in HT-29R13. Both cell lines had equal P-glycoprotein expression. Multiple drug resistance mechanisms are present in HT-29R13 including decreased drug activation (decreased DT-diaphorase), increased drug detoxification (increased GST-pi and GST-alpha, GSH reductase, GSH peroxidase), and decreased accessibility of DNA targets (decreased topoisomerase II). Further work will be necessary to determine the degree to which each of these mechanisms contribute to MMC resistance in this model.