Effect of CD38 on the multidrug resistance of human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cells to doxorubicin.

Drug resistance is a serious challenge in cancer chemotherapy. Alterations in the intracellular concentration and homeostasis of calcium (Ca2+) may contribute to the development of drug resistance. To investigate the mechanism of drug resistance in leukemia, the present study rendered human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cells resistant to the cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin by progressively adapting the sensitive parental K562 cells to doxorubicin. The resulting cells were termed K562/DOX. Subsequently, the expression of two multidrug resistance proteins, P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1), was analyzed in K562/DOX cells. In addition to P-gp and MRP1, these cells also expressed cluster of differentiation (CD)38 and its active enzyme adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribosyl cyclase. The present study also demonstrated that K562/DOX cells responded to cyclic ADP-ribose-mediated increases in intracellular Ca2+. These data indicate that CD38 may participate in the development of drug resistance to doxorubicin in K562 cells.

Modulation of iron metabolism by iron chelation regulates intracellular calcium and increases sensitivity to doxorubicin.

Increased intracellular iron levels can both promote cell proliferation and death, as such; iron has a "two-sided effect" in the delicate balance of human health. Though the role of iron in the development of cancer remains unclear, investigations of iron chelators as anti-tumor agents have revealed promising results. Here, we investigated the influence of iron and desferrioxamine (DFO), the iron chelating agent on intracellular calcium in a human leukemia cell line, K562. Iron uptake is associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Therefore, we showed that iron also caused dose-dependent ROS generation in K562 cells. The measurement of intracellular calcium was determined using Furo-2 with a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The iron delivery process to the cytoplasmic iron pool was examined by monitoring the fluorescence of cells loaded with calcein-acetoxymethyl. Our data showed that iron increased intracellular calcium, and this response was 8 times higher when cells were incubated with DFO. K562 cells with DFO caused a 3.5 times increase of intracellular calcium in the presence of doxorubicin (DOX). In conclusion, DFO induces intracellular calcium and increases their sensitivity to DOX, a chemotherapeutic agent.