Development and properties of an etoposide-resistant human leukaemic CCRF-CEM cell line.

Etoposide (VP-16) and several other unrelated anti-tumour agents appear to act by inhibiting the enzyme DNA topoisomerase II. We report here the development and characterization of an etoposide-resistant human leukaemic CCRF-CEM cell line, CEM/VP-1. The cell line was 15-fold more resistant to etoposide than the parental CEM cells and exhibited cross-resistance to other topoisomerase II inhibitors including teniposide, m-AMSA, and doxorubicin