Experimental studies on multidrug resistance in human leukaemia : role of cellular heterogeneity for daunorubicin kinetics

Abstract: Cellular resistance to chemotherapy is a major cause of treatment failure in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and still the majority of the patients die from their disease. Drug resistance 1s multifactorial, the most studied mechanism being multidrug resistance (MDR), mediated by the P-glycoprotein (Pgp). Pgp is an energy-dependent transport protein, encoded by the mdr1 gene, with the power to extrude the cytotoxic drugs out of the cells; thus causing reduced effect of the drug on the leukaemic cells. MDR is characterised by cross-resistance to a wide range of chemotherapeutics of natural origin. Other transport proteins, involved in drug resistance, are the multidrug resistance associated protein (MRP) and the lung resistance protein (Lrp).The aims of this thesis were to elucidate transport kinetics of the anthracycline, daunorubicin, (Dnr) and to investigate the effects of reversing agents on heterogeneity of drug accumulation in cells from patients with AML. The ultimate goal is to improve treatment based on each patient's individual resistance patterns.Density gradient isolated mononuclear cells from patients with AML were incubated with Dnr. Incubated cells were sorted with flow cytometry (FC) on the basis of accumulation levels of the autofluorescent Dnr. Gene expression of the Pgp and the MRP in sorted subpopulations were analysed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Apoptosis, expression of p53 and bcl-2 in the sorted subpopulations were determined with monoclonal antibodies and FC. Drug accumulation and efflux, with/without the resistance modifier Cyclosporin A (CyA) and energy-depleting metabolic inhibitors (MJ), were also determined in the leukaemic cell populations with FC.Gene expressions of mdr1 and mrp1 were shown to be heterogeneous in the leukaemic samples and drug accumulation correlated inversely to the gene expression. Cell populations with the higher drug accumulation entailed more apoptosis. The leukaemic cell lopulation, defined by immunopenotyping, differed in drug accumulation an efflux compared to the total mononuclear cell population that also contains normal lymphocytes and monocytes. In leukaemic samples with two blast cell populations, the more immature blast ceUs accumulated drug to a lesser extent and bad a higher efflux rate than the differentiating blast cells. CyA reduced Dnr efflux more efficiently than MI, but MJ increased drug accumulation in leukaemic cells more than CyA.In conclusion: analysis of the total mononuclear population does not give an accurate picture of the leukaemic cell population as concerns resistance mechanisms. Heterogeneity in the leukaemic cell population ought to be taken into account since two or more leukaemic cell populations often exist. The most immature blast cell population should be analysed as relapse usually derives from this population. Furthermore the role of Pgp in MDR is not conclusive as results with reversing agents differed from what was expected.