Ketoconazole Reverses Imatinib Resistance in Human Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia K562 Cells

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a hematologic disorder characterized by the oncogene BCR-ABL1, which encodes an oncoprotein with tyrosine kinase activity. Imatinib, a BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, performs exceptionally well with minimal toxicity in CML chemotherapy. According to clinical trials, however, 20–30% of CML patients develop resistance to imatinib. Although the best studied resistance mechanisms are BCR-ABL1-dependent, P-glycoprotein (P-gp, a drug efflux transporter) may also contribute significantly. This study aimed to establish an imatinib-resistant human CML cell line, evaluate the role of P-gp in drug resistance, and assess the capacity of ketoconazole to reverse resistance by inhibiting P-gp. The following parameters were determined in both cell lines: cell viability (as the IC50) after exposure to imatinib and imatinib + ketoconazole, P-gp expression (by Western blot and immunofluorescence), the intracellular accumulation of a P-gp substrate (doxorubicin) by flow cytometry, and the percentage of apoptosis (by the Annexin method). In the highly resistant CML cell line obtained, P-gp was overexpressed, and the level of intracellular doxorubicin was low, representing high P-gp activity. Imatinib plus a non-toxic concentration of ketoconazole (10 μM) overcame drug resistance, inhibited P-gp overexpression and its efflux function, increased the intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin, and favored greater apoptosis of CML cells. P-gp contributes substantially to imatinib resistance in CML cells. Ketoconazole reversed CML cell resistance to imatinib by targeting P-gp-related pathways. The repurposing of ketoconazole for CML treatment will likely help patients resistant to imatinib.