skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Induction of methotrexate resistance by retroviral-mediated transfer of a mutant dihydrofolate reductase gene

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:7138109

Methotrexate (MTX), a folate analog which inhibits the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), is an effective antineoplastic drug. However, MTX-induced myelosuppression limits the effectiveness of this agent. Selective induction of MTX resistance in bone marrow stem cells, prior to treatment with MTX, might prevent this toxicity and improve the therapeutic index of the drug. In these studies drug resistance was transferred to mouse and human bone marrow stem cells by retroviral expression vectors containing coding sequences of a mutant DHFR with a decreased affinity for MTX. Three retroviral expression vectors were analyzed. The CIS DR vector contained the mutant DHFR gene inserted into the replication-defective amphotropic 4070 virus, Cistor. The other vectors contained the mutant DHFR inserted into either the env region (SDHT1) or gag-pol region (SDHT2) of a replication-defective spleen focus-forming virus. All three constructs induced approximately a 200-fold resistance to MTX when transfected into NIH3T3 cells. Amphotropic infectious retroviruses were obtained by transfecting the mutant DHFR vectors into a packaging cell line, which supplied the gag, pol, and env proteins for virus production. Virus titers of 4.5 x 10/sup 3/ colony-forming units (CFU)/ml (CIS DR), 1.5 x 10/sup 4/ CFU/ml (SDHT2), and 5 x 10/sup 5/ CFU/ml (SDHT1) were measured by the transfer of MTX resistance to NIH3T3 cells. The amphotropic SDHT1 virus efficiently induced MTX resistance in cells of several species, including mouse NIH3T3 cells (5 x 10/sup 5/ CFU/ml), monkey CV1 cells (4 x 10/sup 3/ CFU/ml), and human MCF-7 cells (6 x 10/sup 4/ CFU/ml). When cocultured with SDHT1 virus-producing cells, both mouse and human bone marrow cells could be infected and rendered resistant to MTX. Mouse cytotoxic T lymphocytes and mouse helper T lymphocytes can also be made resistant to MTX.

Research Organization:
American Univ., Washington, DC
OSTI ID:
7138109
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Expression of the human. beta. -globin gene following retroviral-mediated transfer into multipotential hematopoietic progenitors of mice
Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA) · OSTI ID:7138109

Construction of a helper cell line for avian reticuloendotheliosis virus cloning vectors
Journal Article · Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1983 · Mol. Cell. Biol.; (United States) · OSTI ID:7138109

Immunoregulatory activities of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) proteins: Effect of HIV recombinant and synthetic peptides on immunoglobulin synthesis and proliferative responses by normal lymphocytes
Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988 · Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA; (United States) · OSTI ID:7138109