Combined arsenic and retinoic acid treatment enhances differentiation and apoptosis in arsenic-resistant NB4 cells

In the acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line NB4, as well as in APL patients' cells, arsenic trioxide (AS(2)O(3)) leads to incomplete cell maturation, induction of apoptosis, as well as to the degradation of the oncogenic PML/RAR alpha fusion protein. We have isolated an arsenic-resistant NB4 subline (NB4-As-R), which fails to undergo apoptosis, but maintains the partial differentiation response to this drug. When grown in the presence of AS(2)O(3), NB4-As-R cells degrade PML/RAR alpha, slightly differentiate, and become more sensitive to serum deprivation-induced apoptosis. Similarly, in RA-resistant NB4-R1 cells, RA induced a significant PML/RAR alpha degradation and yet failed to induce cell maturation. Thus, As2O3- or retinoic acid (RA)-induced PML/RAR alpha degradation may be a prerequisite, but is not sufficient for the full differentiative/apoptotic response to these drugs. Strikingly, RA triggered differentiation and apoptosis were greatly accelerated in As2O3-treated NB4-As-R cells. The synergism between these two agents in this setting could provide an experimental basis for combined or sequential RA/As2O3 therapies. (C) 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.