P-glycoprotein effect on the properties of its natural lipid environment probed by Raman spectroscopy and Langmuir-Blodgett technique

Behavior of P-glycoprotein (Pgp) natural lipid environment within the membrane of CEM cells expressing Pgp in the quantities varying from 0% to 32% of the total amount of all membrane proteins is described for the first time. Observed cooperative effect of Pgp-induced increase of membrane stability, decrease of the temperature of gel-to-crystal lipids transition and predominance of the lipid liquid crystalline phase at physiological temperatures should have an impact in development of multidrug resistance phenotype of tumor cells by favoring the Pgp intercellular transfer and Pgp ATPase activity.     

The immunogenic properties of drug-resistant murine tumor cells do not correlate with expression of the MDR phenotype

Alterations in the immunogenic properties of tumor cells frequently accompany selection for multipledrug-resistant (MDR) variants. Therefore, studies were performed to examine the hypothesis that overexpression of membrane P-glycoprotein, commonly observed in MDR tumor cells, is associated with enhanced immunogenic properties. Immunogenicity was determined by (a) the ability of drug-sensitive parental UV2237M fibrosarcoma cells and drug-resistant UV2237M variant cells to immunize normal mice against rechallenge with parental tumor cells and (b) the ability of normal syngeneic mice to reject cell inocula that caused progressive tumor growth in immunocompromised mice. Variant UV2237M cell lines included subpopulations selected for a six- to ten-fold increase in mRNA for P-glycoprotein and expression of the MDR phenotype (resistance to doxorubicin) and cells sensitive to doxorubicin (and no expression of MDR properties) but resistant to ouabain. All UV2237M drug-resistant cells were highly immunogenic in immunocompetent mice, regardless of their MDR phenotype. Additional studies showed that CT-26 murine adenocarcinoma cells, sensitive or resistant to doxorubicin (expressing high levels of P-glycoprotein), injected into normal syngeneic Balb/c mice produced rapidly growing tumors. The data do not demonstrate a correlation between the immunogenic properties of drug-resistant tumor cells and the expression of P-glycoprotein.Supported in part by core grant CA-16672 R35-CA42 107 from the National Cancer Institute, and postdoctoral fellowship grant PF-3446 from the American Cancer Society (R. R.)     

The molecular basis of multidrug resistance in cancer: the early years of P-glycoprotein research

The discovery and characterization of P-glycoprotein, an energy-dependent multidrug efflux pump, as a mechanism of multidrug resistance in cancer is generally accepted as a significant contribution to the ongoing effort to end death and suffering from this disease. The historical reflections of Victor Ling and Michael Gottesman concerning the early years of this research highlight the important contributions of the multidisciplinary teams involved in these studies, and illustrate how technological developments in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology enabled this discovery.     

shRNA抑制c-fos表达对P-gp介导的乳腺癌多药耐药的影响

多药耐药(multidrug resistance,MDR)是导致化疗失败的重要原因,多药耐药基因(multidrug resistance gene,mdr1)产物P-糖蛋白(P-glycoprotein,P-gp)过表达是最主要的耐药机制。原癌基因c-fos在肿瘤MDR中的作用渐受重视。主要选用人乳腺癌敏感株MCF-7和阿霉素(adriamycin,ADR)筛选的、mdr1/P-gp高表达的耐药株MCF-7/ADR,探讨c-fos在P-gp介导的乳腺癌MDR中的作用。相对于MCF-7,c-fos在MCF-7/ADR高表达。采用shRNA法下调c-fos表达后,MCF-7/ADR对ADR的敏感性大大增强,且mdr1/P-gp表达减少、P-gp外排功能降低。c-fos表达下调可逆转对P-gp介导的乳腺癌MDR的实验结果,为c-fos成为逆转肿瘤耐药诊断和治疗的新靶标,对实现耐药乳腺癌的分子靶向治疗提供了理论基础。     

MDR1基因多态性及其临床相关性研究进展

体内外研究证明,人体中P—gP在药物的吸收、分布、代谢和排泄（ADME）过程中发挥了非常重要的作用。多药耐药基因MDR1（ABCB1）是P-gP的编码基因。药物基因组学和遗传药理学研究发现在不同个体中MDR1基因多态性与P—gP表达和功能的改变密切相关,而且这些多态位点存在基因型分布和等位基因频率的种族差异性。近几年,已陆续发现在MDR1基因中有50处单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）和3处插入与缺失多态性。随后,大量文献报道某些位点的SNPs如C3435T会使个体患病的易感性增加。因此人们相信,深入研究MDR1基因多态性与P—gP的生理和生化方面的相关性将对个体医疗有着非常深远的意义。文章总结了国外最新的研究进展并结合本实验室的工作着重讨论了4个方面：1）P—gP对药代动力学性质的影响：2）MDR1基因多态性及其对遗传药理学性质的影响;3）MDR1^C3435T的单核苷酸多态性与P-gP表达和功能之间的相关性：4）MDR1基因多态性与人类某些疾病之间的相关性。     

P—gp和细胞容积调节

本实验用基因阻抑技术阻抑牛眼睫状体非色素上皮(NPE)细胞MDR1基因表达,在激光共聚焦显微镜下检测细胞MDRI基因产物P-gp免疫荧光,研究MDRI基因及P-gp与细胞容积调节的关系。结果表明:NPE细胞表达MDR1基因,存在P-gp蛋白。人反义MDR1特异性阻抑NPE细胞MDR1基因表达,剂量依赖性抑制P-gp免疫荧光(r=0.95,P<0.01),减少P-gp合成,导致细胞容积调节减弱,鼠反义MDR1对NPE细胞MDR1基因表达及容积调节没有影响。结果提示P-gp在细胞容积调节中起重要作用。     

Digoxin up-regulates MDR1 in human colon carcinoma Caco-2 cells

Because MDR1 (P-glycoprotein) plays an important role in pharmacokinetics such as absorption and excretion of xenobiotics and multidrug resistance, an understanding of the factors regulating its function and expression is important. Here, the effects of digoxin on cell sensitivity to an anticancer drug, MDR1 function, and expression were examined by assessing the growth inhibition by paclitaxel, the transport characteristics of the MDR1 substrate Rhodamine123, and the level of MDR1 mRNA, respectively, using human colon carcinoma Caco-2 cells, which are widely used as a model of intestinal epithelial cells. The sensitivity to paclitaxel, an MDR1 substrate, in Caco-2 cells pretreated with digoxin was lower than that in non-treated cells. The accumulation of Rhodamine123 was reduced by pretreatment with digoxin and its efflux was enhanced. The level of MDR1 mRNA in Caco-2 cells was increased in a digoxin concentration-dependent manner. These results taken together suggested that digoxin up-regulates MDR1 in Caco-2 cells.     

Tetrandrine and fangchinoline,bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids from Stephania tetrandra can reverse multidrug resistance by inhibiting P-glycoprotein activity in multidrug resistant human cancer cells

The overexpression of ABC transporters is a common reason for multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells. In this study, we found that the isoquinoline alkaloids tetrandrine and fangchinoline from Stephania tetrandra showed a significant synergistic cytotoxic effect in MDR Caco-2 and CEM/ADR5000 cancer cells in combination with doxorubicin, a common cancer chemotherapeutic agent. Furthermore, tetrandrine and fangchinoline increased the intracellular accumulation of the fluorescent P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrate rhodamine 123 (Rho123) and inhibited its efflux in Caco-2 and CEM/ADR5000 cells. In addition, tetrandrine and fangchinoline significantly reduced P-gp expression in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that tetrandrine and fangchinoline can reverse MDR by increasing the intracellular concentration of anticancer drugs, and thus they could serve as a lead for developing new drugs to overcome P-gp mediated drug resistance in clinic cancer therapy.     

Increased expression of sorcin is associated with multidrug resistance in leukemia cells via up-regulation of MDR1 expression through cAMP response element-binding protein

Sorcin, a 22 kDa Ca²⁺ binding protein, was first identified in a vincristine-resistant Chinese hamster lung cell line, and was later demonstrated to be involved in the development of multidrug-resistance (MDR) phenotypes in a variety of human cancer cell lines. However, the exact role of sorcin in MDR cells is yet to be fully elucidated. Here we explored the role of sorcin in the development of MDR in leukemia cells, and revealed that the expression level of sorcin was directly correlated to the expression of MDR1/P-glycoprotein (P-gp). In addition, it was shown that sorcin induced the expression of MDR1/P-gp through a cAMP response element (CRE) between −716 and −709 bp of the mdr1/p-gp gene. Furthermore, overexpression of sorcin increased the phosphorylation of CREB1 and the binding of CREB1 to the CRE sequence of mdr1/p-gp promoter, and induced the expression of MDR1/P-gp. These findings suggested that sorcin induces MDR1/P-gp expression markedly through activation of the CREB pathway and is associated with the MDR phenotype. The new findings may be helpful for understanding the mechanisms of MDR in human cancer cells, prompting its further investigation as a molecular target to overcome MDR.     

Heterologous expression systems for P-glycoprotein:E. coli,yeast, and baculovirus

Chemotherapy, though it remains one of the front-line weapons used to treat human cancer, is often ineffective due to drug resistance mechanisms manifest in tumor cells. One common pattern of drug resistance, characterized by simultaneous resistance to multiple amphipathic, but otherwise structurally dissimilar anticancer drugs, is termed multidrug resistance. Multidrug resistance in various model systems, covering the phylogenetic range from bacteria to man, can be conferred by mammalian P-glycoproteins (PGPs), often termed multidrug transporters. PGPs are 170-kD polytopic membrane proteins, predicted to consist of two homologous halves, each with six membrane spanning regions and one ATP binding site. They are members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily of transporters, and are known to function biochemically as energy-dependent drug efflux pumps. However, much remains to be learned about PGP structure-function relationships, membrane topology, posttranslational regulation, and bioenergetics of drug transport. Much of the recent progress in the study of the human and mouse PGPs has come from heterologous expression systems which offer the benefits of ease of genetic selection and manipulation, and/or short generation times of the organism in which PGPs are expressed, and/or high-level expression of recombinant PGP. Here we review recent studies of PGP inE. coli, baculovirus, and yeast systems and evaluate their utility for the study of PGPs, as well as other higher eukaryotic membrane proteins.     

P-glycoprotein subcellular localization and cell morphotype in MDR1 gene-transfected human osteosarcoma cells.

Efflux of chemotherapy agents by P-glycoprotein at the plasma membrane is thought to be a major cause of cancer multidrug-resistance (MDR). However, the mechanism underlying the cellular accumulation and distribution of cytotoxic drugs is still poorly defined. We have recently found that P-glycoprotein is expressed also in the nucleus of MDR cell lines selected in doxorubicin (DXR), suggesting the possible involvement of this protein in the direct extrusion of the drug from the nucleus of resistant cells. In this study, we analyzed the subcellular localization of P-glycoprotein, in a series of U-2 OS osteosarcoma cell clones transfected with MDR1 gene in order to verify whether the nucleus is a constant site for the localization and functional activity of P-glycoprotein, and in which way some aspects of cell morphology related to MDR depend on the subcellular P-glycoprotein localization rather than on the exposure to the selective drug. Our results indicate that to achieve a subcellular drug distribution prevailing in the cytoplasm but not in the nucleus, a significant increase in the expression of P-glycoprotein at the different cellular compartments, including the plasma membrane, the cytoplasm, and the nucleus, is needed, although the in vitro drug resistance appears to be mainly dependent on the expression of P-glycoprotein at the cell surface. With regard to the morphological characteristics of MDR cells involving the cell surface and the chromatin arrangement, the influence of DXR appears to be prevalent, although P-glycoprotein overexpression cannot be excluded.     

Use of ribozymes and antisense oligodeoxynucleotides to investigate mechanisms of drug resistance

Chemotherapy can cure a number of human cancers but resistance (either intrinsic or acquired) remains a significant problem in many patients and in many types of solid tumour. Combination chemotherapy (using drugs with different cellular targets/mechanisms) was introduced in order to kill cells which had developed resistance to a specific drug, and to allow delivery of a greater total dose of anti-cancer chemicals by combining drugs with different side-effects (Pratt et al., 1994). Nearly all anti-cancer drugs kill tumour cells by activating an endogenous bio-chemical pathway for cell suicide, known as programmed cell death or apoptosis. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Understanding dihydro-β-agarofuran sesquiterpenes from Tripterygium hypoglaucum as the modulators of multi-drug resistance in HepG2/Adr cells

Multi-drug resistance (MDR) is one of the dominant reasons for the failure of cancer chemotherapy. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) over-expression in the plasma membrane of drug-resistant tumor cells promotes the efflux of chemotherapeutic agents and plays a significant role in MDR. Several investigations have suggested that dihydro-β-agarofuran sesquiterpenes are the potential modulators of MDR. However, their cellular mechanism in regulating P-gp has not been fully explored. Seven dihydro-β-agarofuran sesquiterpenes (1–7) from Tripterygium hypoglaucum was evaluated for the chemoreversal activity of HepG2/Adr cells. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 were active with reversal fold ranging from 47.68 to 456.90. The image-based high-screening indicated that all of the active compounds were capable of decreasing the efflux of doxorubicin (Dox). The most potent 4 did not affect the expression or subcellular distribution of P-gp. P-gp ATPase activity was stimulated by 4 in a dose-depend manner, suggesting that 4 may be the substrate of P-gp. The docking data implied that 4 took PHE 979, PHE 332, and GLN 986 to bind with P-gp. Taken together, the results demonstrated that dihydro-β-agarofuran sesquiterpenes from T. Hypoglaucum were the substrate of P-gp and potential modulators of MDR.     

Using purified P-glycoprotein to understand multidrug resistance

Since P-glycoprotein was discovered almost 20 years ago, its causative role in multidrug resistance has been established, but central problems of its biochemistry have not been definitively resolved. Recently, major advances have been made in P-glycoprotein biochemistry with the use of purified and reconstituted P-glycoprotein, as well as membranes from nonmammalian cells containing heterologously expressed P-glycoprotein. In this review we describe recent findings using these systems which are elucidating the molecular mechanism of P-glycoprotein-mediated drug transport.