Acquired camptothecin resistance of human breast cancer MCF-7/C4 cells with normal topoisomerase I and elevated DNA repair

A camptothecin (CPT)-resistant cell line (MCF-7/C4) was established from MCF-7 cells by mutagenic treatment with methylmethanesulfonate and selection with CPT. MCF-7/C4 is 30-fold resistant to CPT and is cross-resistant to UV and cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) but not to VP-16 or ionizing radiation. Topoisomerase I (top1)-mediated cleavable complexes in the presence of CPT, measured by oligonucleotide assay and by alkaline elution, were similar in both cell lines. Other top1 parameters such as top1 protein, RNA levels, and DNA relaxation were also similar in both cell lines. Thus, CPT resistance is not due to alterations in top1 activity but is caused by changes in the downstream pathways from the top1-induced damage. Both cell lines had similar doubling time (22 hr), but MCF-7/C4 cells showed reduced S-phase fraction in the absence of CPT and reduced G(2) delay after CPT treatment. p53, GADD45, and p21(WAF1/CIP1) were induced similarly by CPT in both cell lines. The overall repair capacity estimated by the ability of cells to reactivate UV-damaged pSV-CAT plasmid was increased in MCF-7/C4 cells. These observations suggest that enhanced DNA repair is one of the factors involved in CPT resistance.