BACKGROUND: Chemoresistance is a primary hindrance for current cancer treatments. The influence of abnormal mitochondria in chemotherapy resistance is not well known. To explore the correlation between mitochondria and acquired chemoresistance, this work studied alterations in mitochondrial dynamics, biogenesis, and functions for paclitaxel-resistant cancer cell line A549/Taxol and its parental line A549.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Mitochondrial morphology was observed by transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. We measured the mitochondrial mass and mitochondrial membrane potential using fluorescent dyes. The glucose metabolic profile and ATP (adenosine triphosphate) content were determined by bioluminescent cell assays. Seahorse bio-energy analyzer XF24 was used to detect the mitochondrial respiratory function. The expressions of mitochondrial dynamics and biogenesis related genes were quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS: We observed fusion morphology of the mitochondrial network in A549/Taxol cells, with upregulation of fusion genes (Mfn1 and Mfn2) and downregulation of fission gene Fis1. In A549/Taxol cells, mitochondrial mass showed a significant decrease, while the mitochondrial biogenesis pathway was strongly activated. Despite the decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, the capability for mitochondrial respiration was not impaired in A549/Taxol cells.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed a series changes of mitochondrial characteristics in paclitaxel-resistant cells. Mfn1 and Mfn2 and PGC-1α increased, while Fis1 expression and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation decreased in A549/Taxol cell lines. These changes to mitochondrial fusion, fission, and biological function contributed to the occurrence of paclitaxel resistance in tumor cells which induced paclitaxel resistance.

Keywords: Drug Resistance, Energy Metabolism, Mitochondria, paclitaxel, A549 cells, GTP Phosphohydrolases, Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial, Microscopy, Confocal, Microscopy, Electron, Transmission, Mitochondrial Dynamics, Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins, Mitochondrial Proteins, organelle biogenesis, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha