Fanconi anemia (FA)-associated proteins FANCF and FANCD2 are important components of the FA pathway of DNA crosslink repair. FANCF and FANCD2 have been found to be involved in drug-resistant multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, and head and neck

The Fanconi anemia (FA)-associated proteins FANCF and FANCD2 are important components of the FA pathway of DNA crosslink repair. FANCF and FANCD2 have been found to be involved in drug-resistant multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, and head and neck cancer. However, it is unclear whether these two genes participate in adriamycin (ADR)-resistant leukemia. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate FANCF and FANCD2 expression in drug-resistant and drug-sensitive leukemia cells. Western blot analysis revealed enhanced FANCF expression and monoubiquitination of FANCD2 in ADR-resistant cells. Additionally, it was observed that drug-resistant cells had reduced DNA damage compared with drug-sensitive cells. The results of this study indicate that the FA pathway may confer leukemia resistance to ADR via enhanced DNA interstrand crosslink repair.