Isolation and characterization of an acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line selectively resistant to the novel antileukemic and apoptogenic retinoid 6-[3-adamantyl-4-hydroxyphenyl]-2-naphthalene carboxylic acid

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6-[3-adamantyl-4-hydroxyphenyl]-2-naphthalene carboxylic acid (CD437) is a novel compound that represents the prototype of a new class of synthetic retinoids with apoptogenic properties in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and other types of leukemia. In this article, using SCID mice xenografted with APL-derived NB4 cells, we demonstrate that CD437 has significant antileukemic activity in vivo. In addition, we report on the isolation and characterization of an APL cell line (NB4.437r) resistant to CD437. The cell line retains expression of PML-RAR and is approximately 33-fold more resistant than the parental counterpart to the apoptogenic effects of the retinoid. Resistance is relatively specific to CD437 and structural congeners because the NB4.437r cell line is still sensitive to various types of apoptogenic compounds. The CD437-resistant cell line maintains sensitivity to the antiproliferative and apoptotic action of all-trans-retinoic acid, AM580, and fenretinide, though it shows partial resistance to the cytodifferentiating effects of the first 2 compounds. Resistance to CD437 lays upstream of the CD437-induced release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria and the activation of caspase-3, -7, -8, and -9. Furthermore, NB4.437r cells are deficient in the CD437-dependent activation of nuclear NFkb and AP1-binding activities and in the phosphorylation of the protein kinase Akt. In the case of AP1, deficient assembly of the complex is not caused by the lack of activation of the Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) family of kinases. The novel cell line will be useful in the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the apoptogenic action of CD437 and structurally related retinoids.