Levels of messenger-RNA coding for DNA topoisomerase-ii isoforms do not correlate with in-vitro drug-sensitivity.

The relationship between cellular levels of mRNA coding for DNA topoisomerase II, both the alpha and beta isoforms, and in vitro sensitivity to anticancer drugs were evaluated. Using a sensitive RNA-polymerase chain reaction technique, the levels of mRNA coding for the alpha and beta isoforms of topoisomerase II were estimated relative to beta-actin mRNA. A relatively narrow range of expression was observed across a broad range of approximately 60 human tumor cell lines representing eight major histological types which have been characterized in detail with respect to their in vitro sensitivity to standard anticancer drugs. No significant correlations were observed between mRNA level and cellular response to drugs thought to inhibit topoisomerase II or any of the other drugs studied. These results suggest that predictive tests for response to topoisomerase II-related drugs can not be based on estimation of levels of mRNA.