Alterations in the topoisomerase II alpha gene, messenger RNA, and subcellular protein distribution as well as reduced expression of the DNA topoisomerase II beta enzyme in a mitoxantrone-resistant HL-60 human leukemia cell line.

A human HL-60 leukemia cell line selected for resistance to mitoxantrone, HL-60/MX2, displays cross-resistance only to agents whose cytotoxicities result from interaction with the nuclear enzyme DNA topoisomerase II (topo II). The topo II catalytic activity is reduced 2-fold in the drug-resistant cell line in association with the absence of the M(r) 180,000 isoform of topo II and the finding of novel M(r) 160,000 topo II alpha-related immunoreactive protein in these cells by immunoblot. The topo II alpha (M(r) 170,000) protein levels in nuclear extracts from the HL-60/MX2 cells were noted on average to be approximately 40% lower than in comparable HL-60 nuclei. Studies of the subcellular localization of topo II by immunohistochemical and fractional extraction techniques demonstrated that the M(r) 160,000 topo II alpha-related protein is primarily localized in the cytoplasm. Levels of the 6.3-kilobase topo II alpha mRNA were noted to be reduced 2-fold in the HL-60/MX2 cells in association with the finding of a novel 4.8-kilobase topo II alpha-related mRNA transcript that was present in HL-60/MX2 but not HL-60 cells. The absence of topo II beta protein in nuclear and whole cell extracts from the HL-60/MX2 cells was associated with the virtual absence of detectable topo II beta mRNA in those cells by Northern blot analysis. Using a reverse transcription-PCR assay we were able to demonstrate the presence of very low levels of topo II beta mRNA in HL-60/MX2 cells, representing < 1% of that found in the HL-60 cells. In contrast, the nuclear catalytic activity and cellular mRNA levels of the related nuclear enzyme DNA topoisomerase I were nearly identical in the two cell types. Southern blot analysis of DNA extracted from the drug-sensitive and drug-resistant cells revealed a structural alteration in one topo II alpha allele in the HL-60/MX2 cells, but there was no evidence of rearrangement or hypermethylation of the topo II beta locus. These results indicate that the reduced levels of topo II alpha and beta isoenzymes observed in mitoxantrone-resistant HL-60/MX2 cells are related to changes in the levels of their respective mRNA transcripts. The identification of structural changes in one topo II alpha allele in the HL-60/MX2 cell line suggests that the altered allele may serve as the source of the unique 4.8-kilobase topo II alpha-related mRNA transcript and the M(r) 160,000 protein discovered in those cells.