Cancer Science & Therapy

Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Cross-resistance of Clinically Relevant Radioresistant Cells to X-rays and Docetaxe

Abstract

Yoshikazu Kuwaharaa, Kazuo Tomita, Shintaro Takahashi, Yusuke Urushihara, Yohei Saito, Mehryar Habibi Roudkenar, Amaneh Mohammadi Roushandeh, Tomoaki Sato, Akihiro Kurimasa and Manabu Fukumoto

To determine whether mitochondria are involved in cross-resistance to docetaxel and X-rays in radioresistant cancer cells, ρ0 cell lines were established. As with radioresistant cells, a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential in ρ0 cell lines compared with the corresponding ρ+ cell lines was confirmed. As expected, ρ0 cells were resistant to single-dose X-rays and docetaxel, as compared with the corresponding ρ+ cells. However, at 2 Gy/ day, all ρ0 cells died out after exposure to fractionated X-rays. Therefore, mitochondria may not be involved in the radioresistance of cancer cells against fractionated radiation therapy.