Multidrug resistance in aggressive lymphoproliferative disorders of T and natural-killer origin

The measurement of rhodamine 123 (Rho123) efflux in hematological malignancies, using flow-cytometry, provides an accurate assessment of multidrug resistance (MDR) of both P-glycoprotein and MRP. While their normal counterparts display high levels of PgP and Rho123 efflux, we investigated the MDR status of marked T/NK proliferations. When diagnosed according to natural killer (NK) markers (CD16, CD56, CD57) 8 of nine NK lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD) were markedly positive (3 NK non Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), 1 NK lymphoproliferative disease of large granular lymphocytes (LGL), and 5 T/NK LGL). These results are in accordance with the observed response to chemotherapy in the treated cases. Mature T LPD (prolymphocytic leukemia (PLL), and NHL) cells gave varying results, as did cells from Sezary syndromes. Marked Rho123 efflux was detected in the two cases of T-PLL suggesting the expression of MRP as previously described. Immature T-lymphomas or leukemias (6 cases) were all negative. These data should be considered in relation to NK proliferations which clearly display an MDR phenotype and therefore raise the question, of the relevance of this phenotype in normal cells, and secondly of the negativity of immature T-LPD. The latter could indicate that MDR inhibitors may be superfluous in the initial treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Finally the resistance to treatment of T-ALL or mature T cells LPD invokes the importance of exploring other mechanisms of drug resistance such as the lung resistance related protein (LRP).