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Limited effectiveness of in vitro high-dose methotrexate and leucovorin to overcome resistance in L1210 leukemia cells with elevations of dihydrofolate reductase

  • H. Bruckner
  • , M. Runinoff
  • , S. Waxman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two L1210 cell lines, one sensitive to methotrexate (MTX) (L1210S) and the other resistant (L1210/740R) due to high dihydrofolate reductase were exposed to MTX in serial log concentrations from 10-3 M MTX. Maximal (90%) inhibition of de novo DNA synthesis was produced by 10-6 M MTX in L1210/S. 10-4 MTX produced no more than 40% inhibition in the L1210/740R line. Leucovorin [N-5-formyltetrahydrofolic acid (LV)] 10-4 M completely rescued L1210S from 10-7 M MTX and L1210/740R from 10-5 M MTX. There was a partial rescue by LV of L1210/740T but none in L1210S from 10-4 M MTX. LV completely corrected the metabolic defect produced by 10-4 M MTX when the cells were washed in MTX free media following exposure to 10-4 M MTX. Thus, high-dose MTX has no apparent major advantage when MTX resistance is due to high dihydrofolate reductase. High-dose MTX can produce a defect involving a low affinity (reversible) site which is not corrected by LV and a high affinity site defect which is completely corrected by LV. LV rescue is not directly dependent on the concentration of free MTX alone in extracellular media. The measurement of the antimetabolic effect of different simulated MTX treatment programs in cell lines with different defined mechanisms of resistance to MTX may serve as a method for identifying the biochemical parameters of cells and optimum conditions, if any, for treatment with high-dose MTX and LV.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1057-1063
Number of pages7
JournalEuropean Journal of Cancer and Clinical Oncology
Volume16
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1980
Externally publishedYes

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