Predominant role for DNA damage in etoposide-induced cytotoxicity and cell cycle perturbation in human SV40-transformed fibroblasts.

The cytotoxic and cell kinetic effects of the epipodophyllotoxin 4,6-demethylepipodophyllotoxin-9-(4,6-O-ethylidene-beta-D-glucopyr anoside) (VP-16) in cultured mammalian cells are thought to relate to the induction of DNA damage, specifically DNA strand interruptions. In an effort to explore this relationship in human cells we have identified a VP-16-hypersensitive human cell system, namely an SV40-transformed fibroblast line (AT5BIVA) originally derived from an ataxia telangiectasia (AT) patient. Evidence is presented that enhanced VP-16 sensitivity may be a consistent in vitro feature at AT derived cells. However, the intrinsic sensitivity (DNA strand breaks per lethal hit quantitated by nucleoid sedimentation) was the same for AT5BIVA and a corresponding normal control, indicating that the AT cell line accumulated more drug-induced DNA damage during short-term VP-16 exposures. It is suggested that AT cells may have abnormal topoisomerase II activity. The cell cycle responses of normal and AT cells to VP-16 exposure were complex, with the generation of parasynchronous S phase populations and the accumulation of cells in G2. Differences in cell killing or DNA strand breakage between normal and AT cells could only be correlated with the magnitude and kinetics of the G2 retention phenomenon. In short, there are several similarities in the action of ionizing radiation and VP-16. We suggest that the sensitivity of cellular DNA to VP-16-induced DNA damage and the kinetics of the G2 delay may be useful parameters for predicting the survival probability of drug-treated human tumor populations.