[Biochemical mechanisms of resistance to a new antineoplastic drug CRC 680578 from the nitrosourea class].

The biochemical mechanisms of resistance to CRC 680578, a new antitumour chloroethylnitrosourea alpha-amino acid derivative, were studied. Alterations in DNA, RNA and protein syntheses, SH-group content, drug efflux, activities of replicative and repair enzymes, such as ribonucleotide reductase, thymidine kinase, O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase and DNA polymerases alpha and beta and damages of the DNA secondary structure were investigated in sensitive and resistant to CRC 680578 leukemia L1210 cells. It was found that the total SH-group number in drug-resistant cells was increased (about 1.3-fold in comparison with sensitive cells) which seems to be due to the mechanisms of drug resistance. CHC 680578 induced less pronounced inhibition and more rapid restoration of DNA and RNA synthesis in resistant cells. No differences between the ribonucleotide reductase and thymidine kinase activities were found either in intact cells of the both strains or after drug administration. The efficiency of repair of DNA chloroethyl adducts by O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase in leukemia cells of various sensitivity was found to be identical. The differences in enzyme activities in intact cells of the both strains were insignificant. It was supposed that factors other than changes in the level of O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase in leukemia cells may be responsible for the resistance to CRC 680578. The increase in the levels of DNA polymerase alpha and, especially, of DNA polymerase beta, in sensitive (but not resistant) mouse leukemia cells 48 hours after drug administration is though to define the mechanism of resistance to the new antitumour agent CHC 680578.