We have studied the genetic alterations acquired during selection of a cloned human leukaemic cell line (CEM/VP-1) that is 15-fold more resistant to the anticancer topoisomerase Il-inhibitor etoposide than parental CCRF-CEM cells. CEM/VP-1 cells exhibit an 'atypical MDR' phenotype: cross resistance to other topo II inhibitors (but not Vinca alkaloids) and expression of a drug-resistant topo II ...

To characterize the immunoreactive glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein present in "receptorless" (r-) mutants isolated from the glucocorticoid-sensitive (dexs) human leukemic cell line CEM-C7, binding of [3H]dexamethasone was determined in extracts prepared from the sensitive cell line 6TG1.1 and the r- mutant ICR27TK.3 after gentle freeze-thaw lysis and low-speed centrifugation. Under these c...

Near diploid leukemic T-cells (LALW-2), exposed to cytotoxic drugs only as a consequence of therapy administered to the donor patient, have been maintained by serial xenograft in nude mice. In comparison with the leukemic line CCRF-CEM, using a growth inhibition assay, LALW2 cells were resistant to Vinca alkaloids and actinomycin D (relative resistance, 200-fold or more), were slightly resistan...

In an attempt to elucidate the role of somatic mutation in the development of resistance to cancer chemotherapy, an assay was sought to measure the frequency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) mutants in human tumors. Based on the same principle as [3H]thymidine/autoradiography, a method was developed to identify cell proliferation using the thymidine analog 5-bromo-2'-deo...

The INK4 family of proteins consists of four members which can block progression from the G(1)-to-S phase of the cell cycle by inhibiting the activity of cyclin dependent kinases (cdks) 4 and 6. Although the gene encoding p16(INK4a) is commonly inactivated in human tumors, p18(INK4c) is rarely altered. We show here that overexpression of p18(INK4c) does not block cell cycle progression in a T-c...

BACKGROUND Mycophenolic acid (MPA), a metabolite of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), is an immunosuppressive agent that inhibits inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), a key enzyme in the ex novo synthesis of GTP. We measured IMPDH activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from MMF-treated patients to evaluate the efficacy of MMF in individual patients. METHODS IMPDH activity w...

Resistance to the cytotoxic effects of many natural product drugs after exposure to a single agent is a common observation. The classes of drugs included in the "classic" multiple drug resistance phenotype are Vinca alkaloids, anthracyclines, epipodophyllotoxins, and antibiotics. We report here the characterization of a human leukemic cell line (CEM/VM-1) with "atypical" multiple drug resistanc...

Resistance to the cytotoxic effects of many natural product drugs after exposure to a single agent is a common observation. The classes of drugs included in the "classic" multiple drug resistance phenotype are Vinca alkaloids, anthracyclines, epipodophyllotoxins, and antibiotics. We re port here the characterization of a human leukemic cell line (CEM/VM1) with "atypical" multiple drug resistanc...

AIMS Annexin I (ANXA1), a 37kDa member of the annexin family of Ca2+-binding and phospholipid-binding proteins, is particularly abundant in various populations of peripheral blood leukocytes. Since this protein modulates the anti-inflammatory actions of the steroid hormones, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the female sex steroid hormone, 17beta-estradiol (E2beta), on...