Cross-resistance and biochemical characteristics of second-step mutants of HeLa cells resistant to cardiac glycosides

From ouabain-resistant (OuaR) mutants of HeLa cells which do not show any cross resistance to the digoxin analog SC4453, stable second-step mutants resistant to either SC4453 or those exhibiting increased resistance to digoxin have been isolated. The mutants obtained exhibited highly specific cross resistance towards different cardiac glycosides (CGs) and, based on their cross-resistance patterns, contained more than one type of genetic lesion. Biochemical studies with these mutants showed that cellular uptake of 86Rb was inhibited by specific CGs to which they showed increased resistance. The mutants showed reduced binding of [3H]ouabain and [3H]digoxin in comparison with the parental OuaR cells and about 50-60% of the Na+, K(+)-ATPase activity in the mutant cell extract was highly resistant to inhibition by ouabain and digoxin. In contrast to the above changes, these mutants showed no evidence of amplification, enhanced transcription, or gross alterations in the genes for the alpha or beta subunits of Na+, K(+)-ATPase. These observations indicated that these mutants involved a second-specific alteration in Na+, K(+)-ATPase. In contrast to these mutants, Chinese hamster ovary cells, which naturally exhibit comparable levels of resistance to CGs, showed no significant binding of either [3H]ouabain or [3H]digoxin and all of their Na+, K(+)-ATPase activity was resistant to inhibition by CGs.