The effects of terbium on the cellular accumulation of cisplatin in MDA-MB-231 human breast tumor cells.

PURPOSE

Cisplatin (DDP) is an effective antitumor agent limited in its efficacy by the development of tumor cell resistance. The defective accumulation of DDP has been shown to be a prominent feature in many DDP-resistant cell lines. In an effort to circumvent this problem, we examined the cellular accumulation of DDP in the presence of terbium (Tb3+). We also examined the effects of verapamil on the cellular accumulation of DDP in order to delineate the specific interaction of Tb3+ and DDP. All experiments were performed on DDP-sensitive or DDP-resistant MDA-MB-231 human breast tumor cells.

METHODS

The cellular accumulation of DDP and verapamil were determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy was used to obtain equilibrium binding constants for the Tb3+/MDA cell complexes.

RESULTS

We found that 100 microM Tb3+ increased DDP accumulation in the parent MDA cell line, 5.7-fold resistant MDA/A13 and 10-fold resistant MDA/CH cells by 56.2 +/- 7.4, 71.9 +/- 9.4 and 50.8 +/- 9.4%, respectively (P < 0.0001 for all MDA cell types). In contrast, 20 microM verapamil had no significant effect on DDP accumulation in the MDA cell lines. In addition, a positive correlation between the membrane binding of Tb3+ and the cellular accumulation of DDP was found to exist in the parent cell line and sublines (r = 0.9).

CONCLUSIONS

In agreement with earlier studies, the plasma membrane of MDA cell lines contain a specific Tb(3+)-binding protein. Our findings suggest that the Tb(3+)-binding protein may be intimately associated with the accumulation of DDP in breast tumor cells.