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Membrane Lipid Modification and Sensitivity of Leukemic Cells to the Thioether Lipid Analogue BM 41.440¹

Department of Medicine, The University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242 [E. S. P., E. E. K., C. P. B.], and Department of Biochemistry, Boston University Medical School, Boston, MA 02118 [E. J. M.]

Since the ether lipid anticancer drugs are membrane targeted, we examined the effect of membrane lipid structural alteration on their cytotoxicity. Enrichment with docosahexaenoic acid increased the sensitivity to the thioether lipid BM 41.440, compared to control cells enriched with oleic acid. The effect was dependent upon drug concentration, time, and the extent of cellular fatty acid enrichment. Other polyunsaturated fatty acids had a similar effect, which was proportional to the degree of unsaturation of the molecule inserted. Depletion of cellular glutathione with buthionine sulfoximine increased the sensitivity to ether lipid, but prooxidants such as Fe²⁺ and antioxidants such as vitamin E had little effect. The addition of serum to the incubation medium markedly diminished the cytotoxicity of ether lipids for cells modified with both docosahexaenoic acid and oleic acid, probably due to binding of the drug to serum components. The toxicity of another ether lipid, 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine, was not affected appreciably by membrane alteration. Drug uptake studies with a radiolabeled BM 41.440 analogue, 1-[³H]hexadecylthio-2-ethyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine, demonstrated no difference in transport at early time points and no difference in accumulation up to 60 min. We conclude that increases in cellular and/or membrane fatty acid polyunsaturation heighten the cytotoxic effect of a membrane-active ether lipid. The effect is not due to a change in drug transport or accumulation. It may be related to a change in oxidative events. These observations provide further confirmation of the membrane being the target of ether lipid action, using biochemical rather than morphological techniques. Most importantly, this observation offers a potential innovative approach to therapy.

¹ This investigation was supported by Grants CA31526 and CA41314 awarded by the National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services. Data analysis utilized the Clinfo system, Grant RR59 from the General Clinical Research Centers Program, Division of Research Resources, NIH.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 5/20/92. Accepted 9/ 4/92.

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