Objective: To establish gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cell strain and study the role of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) in drug-resistant process.
Methods: Gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cell strain SW1990/GZ was induced by increasing drug dosage intermittently, then the changes of its biological features and the activity of TrxR were examined.
Results: Stable drug-resistant SW1990/GZ cell strain was established by culturing with gemcitabine for 9 months. The morphology and growth characteristics of the cell strain changed remarkably. The cells shrunk and became rounder; its endoplasm expanded; granular substances increased; and the doubling-time was prolonged. Resistance of the cell line to gemcitabine, fluorouracil, adriamycin, and mitomycin significantly increased. The TrxR activity of the drug-resistant cells was increased markedly.
Conclusion: SW1990/GZ has certain multidrug resistance to some chemotherapy drugs, and TrxR plays a role in the drug-resistant process.