Kinetics of uptake and intracellular binding of Cyclosporine A in RAJI cells, in vitro.

Uptake characteristics of Cyclosporine A (CsA), an immunosuppressive agent widely used in organ transplantation, have been evaluated in RAJI cells, a human Burkitt lymphoma cell line which (i) does not bear T-cell markers, (ii) is insensitive to CsA after a 1 hr exposure to concentrations up to 50 micrograms/ml, and (iii) does not metabolize CsA. CsA is rapidly accumulated inside the cells until a near steady-state is achieved (within 1-3 min). This uptake is characterized by two components: one linear process saturable at low drug concentrations (lower than 1 microgram/ml) and another not saturable component even at high drug concentrations (up to 50 micrograms/ml). Uptake of CsA is temperature-dependent and unaffected by the presence of CsD, a structural CsA analog (50 micrograms/ml CsD) or sodium azide (10 mM) in the extracellular compartment. Intracellular accumulation of CsA is associated with the rapid appearance of a cytosolic drug-protein complex, which is responsible at least in part, for the large amount of total drug accumulated inside the cells. Chromatographic analysis of this (3H)CsA-macromolecule complex on a Bio-Gel P-60 exclusion column demonstrates that the molecular weight of this protein(s), likely cyclophilin, is around 15,000-20,000 daltons. Using Lineweaver-Burk analysis of binding equilibrium data, the dissociation constant of CsA for this binding site was approximately 2.2 microM. these studies, which demonstrate that CsA (i) is rapidly accumulated inside the cells as free drug but is also specifically bound to an intracellular macromolecule, and (ii) is selectively retained in the intracellular compartment after the extracellular drug is removed, could explain the intense distribution of CsA in the organs and the slow disappearance of CsA from plasma after CsA therapy in humans.