A New Method for Estimating the Cellular Resistance to Chloroethylnitrosourea : A Northern Blot Analysis for the O^6-methylguanine Methyltransferase Expression

Abstract

The quantification of the O^6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) activity has been used to estimate the cellular resistance to chloroethylnitrosourea (CENU). Briefly, the evaluation of the MGMT expression by Northern blot analysis was correlated with the cellular resistance to BCNU, which was estimated by a colony formation assay in human glioma cell lines. A significant correlation was found between the level of the MGMT expression and the cellular resistance to BCNU. The results suggest that a Northern blot analysis for the MGMT expression appears to be a good assaying tool for screening the cellular resistance to chloroethylnitrosourea.