STI571 reduces NER activity in BCR/ABL-expressing cells

Nucleotide-excision repair (NER) is the most versatile mechanism of DNA repair, recognizing and dealing with a variety of helix-distorting lesions, such as the UV-induced photoproducts cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and pyrimidine (6-4) photoproducts. We investigated the influence of an anticancer drug, STI571, on the efficacy of NER in removing UV-induced DNA damage. STI571 is used mostly in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and inhibits activity of the BCR/ABL oncogenic tyrosine kinase, which is a hallmark of this disease. NER activity was examined in the BCR/ABL-expressing cell lines K562 and BV173 of myeloid and lymphoid origin, respectively, as well as in CCRF-CEM cells, which do not express BCR/ABL. A murine myeloid parental 32D cell line and its counterpart transfected with the BCR/ABL gene were also tested. NER activity was assessed in the cell extracts by use of an UV-irradiated plasmid as a substrate and by a modified single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay on UV-treated nucleoids. Additionally, quantitative PCR was performed to evaluate the efficacy of the removal of UV-induced lesions from the p53 gene by intact cells. Results obtained from these experiments indicate that STI571 decreases the efficacy of NER in leukemic cells expressing BCR/ABL. Therefore, STI571 may overcome the drug resistance associated with increased DNA repair in BCR/ABL-positive leukemias.