The measurement of nuclear topoisomerase II inhibition in vitro: A possible tool for detecting resistance on a subcellular level in haematopoietic malignancies

Anthracyclines, podophyllotoxines, N-[4-(9-acridinylamino)- 3-methoxyphenyl]-methanesulphoneamide (amsacrine, INN) and mitoxantrone are cytostatic agents which exert several molecular effects in the cell. Among these, the inhibition of the nuclear enzyme topoisomerase II appears to be instrumental in cytotoxicity. Tumour cells can acquire resistance to these drugs by several molecular mechanisms. The alteration of target protein sensitivity is one of these. In the present study, we directly measured the inhibition of topoisomerase II by cytostatic drugs. The procedure included isolation of cell nuclei, extraction of nuclear proteins, fractionation of nuclear extracts by anion exchange chromatography and measurement of the catalytic activity in the presence of various concentrations of the drugs. All steps can be performed within one day and require a minimum sample of 10⁷-10⁸ malignant cells. We used cell samples from a multidrug-resistant subclone of the human promyelocytic cell line HL-60 to study the feasibility of the approach. We found an increased resistance of topoisomerase II to etoposide and amsacrine, which correlates with the increased cellular resistance to these drugs as determined by exposure in short term liquid cultures.