Methyl-β-cyclodextrin in HL-60 parental and multidrug-resistant cancer cell lines: effect on the cytotoxic activity and intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to determine the role of methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MEBCD) in combination with doxorubicin (DOX) on the cellular proliferation of a sensitive parental and a multidrug-resistant human cancer cell line (HL-60 S and HL-60 R) and to study the effect of MEBCD on DOX intracellular accumulation. The cytotoxicity of DOX at five concentrations (50–50,000 nM ) was evaluated with or without the coadministration of four fixed noncytotoxic concentrations of MEBCD (100, 200, 500, and 1,000 μM ). Intracellular DOX concentrations were determined by a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection. MEBCD applied at 500 and 1000 μM in combination with doxorubicin (DOX) significantly potentiated the activity of DOX used alone on both sensitive and multidrug-resistant cell lines; 50% growth-inhibitory (IC₅₀) ratios (IC₅₀ MEBCD-DOX/IC₅₀ DOX ) were about 3:4 and 1.6:4 for HL-60 S and HL-60 R, respectively. Moreover, intracellular DOX accumulation, determined by HPLC during 6 h of drug exposure, was about 2–4 times higher for cells treated with MEBCD in combination with DOX than in those treated with DOX alone. Similar results were obtained using other paired MCF 7 sensitive and resistant cell lines. Correlation between these results and an MEBCD-cell membrane interaction was discussed. These initial data provide a basis for the potential therapeutic application of MEBCD in cancer therapy.