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*Centre of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, and
Division of Oncology, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Dr. Michael Hughes, Centre for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK. Tel.: 44-148-368-6775; Fax: 44-148-368-9395; E-mail: M.Hughes@surrey.ac.uk.
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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It has long been recognized that membrane transport of anticancer drugs can be blocked, with consequential reversal of MDR, by the use of pharmacological agents termed modulators or chemosensitizers. Modulation therapy is given in combination with anticancer drugs, as was first described using in vitro cell line models (Biedler and Riehm, 1970
; Tsuruo et al., 1981
), an approach subsequently used in many clinical trials (Bell et al., 1985
; Cowie et al., 1995
). The first-generation MDR modulators such as verapamil and cyclosporin A (CsA), proved disappointing due to side effects and drug concentrations in the blood which were too low to bring about MDR reversal (Pennock et al., 1991
; Kerr et al., 1986
). The second-generation modulators (e.g., PSC-833) were more potent than their predecessors, and less toxic. However, PSC-833 has subsequently been shown to be a CNS toxin, a substrate for P-gp, and regarded as a partial antagonist. Third-generation modulators were developed to overcome the limitations of second-generation modulators and have been shown to specifically and potently inhibit P-gp function. An example of a third-generation modulator is the anthranilamide Tariquidar (XR9576; Xenova Ltd., Slough, UK), which has now reached phase III clinical trials.
Despite more than 25 years of research, the mechanisms underlying MDR reversal have not been fully clarified. Recent data describing binding affinity studies (Martin et al., 1999
) showed that XR9576 interacted with P-gp with very high affinity and potently inhibited its function. The mechanism of action of XR9576 has been suggested to be via noncompetitive interaction at sites that are allosterically linked. P-gp can be considered as a multisite model with sites that either function to transport cytotoxic drugs or mediate inhibition of this process. Notwithstanding, there is a paucity of data regarding the biophysical character of drug-sensitive and -resistant cancer cells. An earlier study (Vayuvegula et al., 1988
) used a flow cytometric-based assay with the membrane potential sensitive dye DIOC5 to compare the membrane potentials of drug-sensitive and MDR cancer cell lines before and after treatment with verapamil and CsA. The MDR cell lines were reported to have a lower membrane potential compared with their corresponding drug-sensitive parental cell lines. Subsequent incubation of the MDR cell lines with CsA or verapamil appeared to restore membrane potentials to that of the parent cell lines. These data suggested that alteration of membrane potential is a feature of MDR cancer cells and that modulation therapy acts to reverse this effect.
The AC-electrokinetic techniques such as dielectrophoresis (DEP) and electrorotation have been described as the motion of neutral matter caused by polarization in a nonuniform field (Pohl, 1978
; Jones, 1995
; Hughes, 2002
). They have been extensively used both as characterization and separation techniques to study dielectric properties of both the membrane and cytoplasm for a number of biological particles (Wang et al., 1993
, 1999
; Washizu et al., 1994
; Markx et al., 1994
; Stephens et al., 1996
; Gascoyne et al., 1997
; Yang et al., 1999
; Archer et al., 1999
; Chan et al., 2000
; Arnold, 2001
; Hughes et al., 2002
). DEP and electrorotation have also been employed both as an investigative tool and as the basis of a diagnostic method in cancer research (Hu et al., 1990
; Burt et al., 1990
; Gascoyne et al., 1992
, 1993
, 1997
; Becker et al., 1994
; Wang et al., 1997
, 1999
; Cristofanilli et al., 2002
).
The study presented here has employed DEP to examine the differences in dielectric properties between drug-sensitive and MDR cancer cells before and after treatment with the P-gp specific modulator, XR9576. DEP measurements showed that the cytoplasmic conductivity of the doxorubicin human leukemic resistant cell line (K562AR) is significantly higher than the drug-sensitive parent cell line (K562), in the absence of any drug treatment. Subsequently, treatment with the MDR modulator (XR9576) had no significant effects on the biophysical properties of either cell line. In this article, we also demonstrate that by using DEP in combination with flow cytometry, modulating agents (such as XR9576) do not alter the membrane potential of MDR cells. Our data suggest that DIOC5 is a substrate for the ABC transporter P-gp and that using this technique with MDR cells gives rise to artifactual results.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Cell culture
Human chronic myelogenous leukemia (K562) and its doxorubicin-resistant counterpart (K562AR) were grown in modified RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum (FCS; Invitrogen, Paisley, UK), 2 mM L-glutamine, and 100 units mL-1 penicillin- streptomycin. All cell culture reagents were obtained from Sigma Aldrich (Poole, UK), unless stated otherwise. Cell lines were cultured in a humidified incubator with 5% CO2/95% air at 37°C. K562AR was maintained in the presence of 100 nM doxorubicin, which was removed for at least one passage before use in experiments.
Confirmation of MDR phenotype in K562AR
Chemosensitivity testing
The colorimetric assay using MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide), was performed, as described by Mosmann (1983)
to titrate cell viability after drug treatment. Leukemic cells at a density of 1 x 105 cells mL-1 in RPMI-1640 containing 10% FCS were dispensed into 96-well plates in volumes of 200 µL and left to equilibrate for 24 h. Freshly thawed drug solution was diluted in RPMI-1640 containing 10% FCS and added in a volume of 50 µL in increasing concentrations. Control wells containing cell suspension were supplemented with a similar volume of medium. After 72 h incubation, cultured cells were treated with 20 µL of 5 mg/ml MTT in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution (Sigma Aldrich, UK) to each well. After 4 h of incubation, the plates were centrifuged at 200 x g and the medium was removed. The tetrazolium crystals were resuspended in 200 µl of DMSO. Absorbance was read at 540 nm using an automated enzyme ELISA plate reader. The process was repeated when using the XR9576 at 100 nM final concentration. The results were expressed as IC50, i.e., the concentration of cytotoxic drug that reduces cell viability by 50% relative to the control (untreated cells).
Western immuno-blotting
Crude cell membrane preparations were made using hypotonic lysis buffer containing 1 mM PMSF, 1 mM NaVO4, aprotinin, leupeptin, and 150 mM NaCl, in 10 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.4). The cells were left to lyse for 30 min, sonicated, and then centrifuged for 10 min (Helena Biosciences, Sunderland, UK) at 450 x g, followed by a further centrifugation (Centrikon-T2060) of 60,000 x g at 4°C. The final pellet was resuspended in lysis buffer containing 0.2% SDS. The protein content of the lysates was determined using a modified Bradford protein assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hemel Hempstead, UK).
50 µg of membrane protein was loaded onto a 10% acrylamide SDS and resolved by SDS-PAGE. The presence of P-gp was detected with anti-P-gp rabbit polyclonal antibody, H241 (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA). Visualization was carried out using HRP conjugated secondary antibody with chemiluminescence.
Cell preparation
Flow cytometry
The leukemic cell suspensions were resuspended in fresh 20 mM HEPES-modified RPMI-1640 containing 10% FCS (both from Sigma, Aldrich, UK) to obtain a cell density in the region of 106 mL-1. The chemosensitizer XR9576 was used at a final concentration of 100 nM, as for chemosensitivity testing. The membrane-potential-sensitive dye DIOC5 (3, 3'- Dipentyloxacarbocyanine iodide) was prepared, as a stock, in PBS and added to the cell suspensions at a final concentration of 10 µM. The dye was substituted with media in control samples (with and without XR9576). After incubating at 37°C for 30 min (with and without XR9576), membrane potentials were recorded using a FACS analyzer (Becton Dickinson, Oxford, UK). Resting membrane potentials from drug-sensitive cells were set on the fluorescence scale by adjusting the laser using the FL 1-PMT (525 nm) green fluorescence setting on the analyzer. The cells were gated on volume vs. scatter for uniform size distribution. The membrane potentials were compared according to the intensity of green fluorescence emitted (assigned by the parameter of geometric meanGMvalues). Thus, an increased membrane potential is indicated by a higher fluorescence intensity (i.e., higher GM value), with the reverse being seen for lower membrane potentials.
DEP experiments
Drug-resistant and -sensitive cells (including those incubated for 30 min at 37°C with XR9576) were centrifuged at room temperature at 0.19 x g for 5 min. The pellets were washed and resuspended in isotonic medium consisting of 8.5% (w/v) sucrose plus 0.3% (w/v) dextrose buffer (Gascoyne et al., 1997
). The sample conductivity was adjusted to 2.5 mS m-1 using PBS and the final conductivity was verified with a conductivity meter (RS Components, London, UK). The final cell population was counted using a hemocytometer and adjusted to
3 x 105 cells per ml (±15%) for DEP measurements. To reduce the effect of variation in cell number in each sample, the experiments were repeated many times (generally 46) with different populations, which were summed before modeling.
As shown in Fig. 1, the system consisted of a signal generator, a light microscope, and the dielectrophoresis chamber in which the cell suspension was placed. The dielectrophoretic forces were generated by two needle-shaped electrodes, pointing toward each other, with opposing tips spaced 100 µm apart in a glass Petri dish. The needles were formed by cutting a thin stainless steel rod at a shallow angle, such that cell collection occurred along the sharpened edge. These edges were placed facedown on the bottom of the chamber to ensure that cell collection always occurred within the field of focus of the microscope. The cell suspension was added to the electrodes by micropipette. The electrodes were energized by a Thurlby Thandar (Huntingdon, UK) signal generator in the range 1020 MHz at an applied voltage of 20 V (peak-to-peak). Recordings were taken by exciting the electrodes for 1 min and counting the collected cells using a handheld tally counter, as described by Pohl (1978)
. The cell density was sufficiently low for the cell population to be disperse enough for cell-to-cell interactions (pearl-chaining) not to affect the results. Similarly, the cells were counted at arrival to the electrode edge to ensure accuracy. The interelectrode gap was chosen to be sufficiently large, and the time over which the experiment was performed ensured that the volume over which cells were attracted to the electrodes was sufficiently large, for variations in the local electric field gradient due to cell collection to have a minimal effect on the behavior of the cell collection process. Measurements were taken at five frequencies per decade, between 10 kHz and 20 MHz. Experiments were observed using an inverted microscope (Carl Zeiss Group, Oberochen, Germany) and charge-coupled device camera with videotaping for subsequent analysis. The dielectric parameters for each cell line in the absence or presence of XR9576 were obtained by fitting the measurement spectra to the single shell model (Irimajiri et al., 1979
).
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| RESULTS |
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| DISCUSSION |
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Despite the presence of P-gp, the DEP results indicate that the electrical properties remained the same after treatment with XR9576 in both K562 and K562AR cells. Also, there do not appear to be any significant differences in the membrane conductivity or capacitance observed between cell lines, implying no significant morphological differences. However, K562 exhibited a significantly lower cytoplasmic conductivity than K562AR (0.23 S m-1 vs. 0.50 S m-1, respectively) indicating a lower cell ionic content. Thus, these data have discriminated the cell lines according to their different dielectric properties. DEP has, therefore, brought attention to differences in the cytoplasm, a part of the cell that is not often considered in MDR.
By comparing the results obtained from DEP and flow cytometry, it can be seen that DEP results clearly do not directly agree with those obtained by flow cytometry. However, examination of these differences can yield useful information. The DEP results show that neither the cytoplasmic or the membrane permittivities, or the conductivities, were altered in the presence of XR9576 for K562AR (Table 2), despite P-gp expression. However, flow cytometry (Fig. 3, a and b), suggested an increase in membrane potential after modulator treatment for K562AR. This contradictory result may, we suggest, indicate that without the modulator, the P-gp could be pumping DIOC5 dye out of the cell, giving an artifactual result.
We suggest that the contradictory results can be resolved if XR9576 is considered to be blocking the P-gp pump and thus preventing the efflux of the dye. In this regime, the fluorescent dye entering the membrane of the drug-resistant cells is pumped out, resulting in an artificially low fluorescence and implied low membrane potential. When P-gp is blocked, this pumping action does not occur and the high fluorescence level truly reflects the high cytoplasmic ionic strength. This resolves the differences between the two results, and also highlights the P-gp blocking effect of the XR9576 compound. This mechanism of action is illustrated in Fig. 5. This finding is in agreement with a previous study that suggested DIOC5 as being a substrate for ABC transporters (Gollapudi and Gupta, 1992
). It is also in agreement with the observation that the DIOC5 result obtained for K562AR in the presence of XR9576 was somewhat higher than that seen for the K562 parental line, indicative of a higher cytoplasmic conductivity. There may be further effects on the cellular uptake of DIOC5 in the presence of XR9576 in K562AR cells that give rise to this effect. In contrast, DEP did not reveal any significant differences in the electrical nature of the membranes of K562 and K562AR cells.
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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Submitted on December 18, 2002; accepted for publication May 5, 2003.
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