Volume 24, Issue 14 p. 2386-2404
Research Article

Study of the development of chemoresistance in melanoma cell lines using proteome analysis

Pranav Sinha

Corresponding Author

Pranav Sinha

Institut für medizinische und chemische Labordiagnostik, Landeskrankenhaus Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

Institut für Medizinische und Chemische Labordiagnostik, Landeskrankenhaus Klagenfurt, St. Veiter Straße 47, A-9020 Klagenfurt, Austria Fax: +43-463-43823039===Search for more papers by this author
Julia Poland

Julia Poland

Institut für Laboratoriumsmedizin und Pathobiochemie, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Berlin, Germany

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Sandro Kohl

Sandro Kohl

Institut für Laboratoriumsmedizin und Pathobiochemie, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Berlin, Germany

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Martina Schnölzer

Martina Schnölzer

Zentrale Proteinanalytik, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany

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Heike Helmbach

Heike Helmbach

Klinische Kooperationseinheit für Dermatoonkologie (DKFZ), Abteilung für Dermatologie, Universitätsklinikum Mannheim Mannheim, Germany

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Gero Hütter

Gero Hütter

Medizinische Klinik III, Hämatologie, Onkologie und Transfusionsmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany

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Hermann Lage

Hermann Lage

Institut für Pathologie, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Berlin, Germany

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Dirk Schadendorf

Dirk Schadendorf

Klinische Kooperationseinheit für Dermatoonkologie (DKFZ), Abteilung für Dermatologie, Universitätsklinikum Mannheim Mannheim, Germany

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First published: 16 July 2003
Citations: 42

Abstract

Malignant melanomas have poor prognosis since treatment with anti-neoplastic agents is mostly ineffective. The biological mechanisms of this strong intrinsic therapy resistance are unknown. In order to identify new molecular factors potentially associated with the drug-resistant phenotype of malignant melanoma, a panel of human melanoma cell variants exhibiting low and high levels of resistance to four commonly used anticancer drugs in melanoma treatment, i.e., vindesine, etoposide, cisplatin, and fotemustine, was characterized using proteomic tools (two-dimensional electrophoresis for protein fractionation and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF)-mass spectrometry for protein identification). In the neutral and weak acidic milieu (pH 4.0–8.0) a total number of 14 proteins showed alterations in expression whereas 20 proteins were differentially expressed in the basic milieu (pH 8.0–11.0). Besides proteins with unknown physiologic function, several factors were identified that show chaperone activity. Moreover, proteins involved in drug detoxification, metabolism, and regulation of apoptotic pathways could be identified. The possible role of these proteins in the development of chemoresistance is discussed, although detailed functional tests with these proteins have still to be performed. Nevertheless, it is clear that this proteomic approach for studying chemoresistance phenomena is a prerequisite before further investigation can yield insight into the biology and development of drug resistance in malignant melanoma.