Saikosaponin A,an active glycoside from Radix bupleuri,reverses P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance in MCF-7/ADR cells and HepG2/ADM cells

1.?The expression and function of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is associated with the phenotype of multidrug resistance (MDR). Saikosaponin A (SSA) is a triterpenoid saponin isolated from Radix Bupleuri. This study was mainly designed to understand effects of SSA on MDR in MCF-7/ADR and HepG2/ADM cells.

2.?MDR reversal was examined as the alteration of cytotoxic drugs IC50 in resistant cells in the presence of SSA by MTT assay, and was compared with the non-resistant cells. Apoptosis and uptake of P-gp substrates in the tumor cells were detected by flow cytometry. Western blot was performed to assay the expression of P-gp.

3.?Our results demonstrate SSA could increase the chemosensitivity of P-gp overexpressing HepG2/ADM and MCF-7/ADR cells to doxorubicin (DOX), vincristine (VCR) and paclitaxel. SSA promoted apoptosis of MCF-7/ADR cells in the presence of DOX. Moreover, it could also increase the retention of P-gp substrates DOX and rhodamine 123 in MCF-7/ADR cells, and decrease digoxin efflux ratio in Caco-2 cell monolayer. Finally, a mechanistic study showed that SSA reduced P-gp expression without affecting hydrolytic activity of P-gp.

4.?In conclusion, our findings suggest that SSA could be further developed for sensitizing resistant cancer cells and used as an adjuvant therapy together with anticancer drugs to improve their therapeutic efficacies.     

丹参酮逆转结肠癌细胞多药耐药性应用于治疗的潜能（英文）

Multidrug resistance(MDR)develops during chemotherapy in nearly all colorectal cancerpatients.It is envisaged that reversal of MDR plays a pivotal role in the success of chemotherapy.This study investigated thepotential pharmacological action in reversing MDR in colon cancer cells by the two most potent tanshinones,namely cryptotanshinone and dihydrotanshinone.They targeted two common MDR mechanisms,including overexpression of P-glycoprotein(P-gp)and suppression of apoptosis.Using a bi-directional transport assay,the two tanshinones decreased P-gp-mediated digoxin effluxin Caco-2 cells.They also potentiated the cytotoxicities of doxorubicin and irinotecan in P-gp overexpressing SW620Ad300 cells via increased intracellular accumulation of both anti-cancer drugs,as a result of down-regulation of P-gp mRNA and protein levels as well as inhibition of P-gp ATPase activity.In addition,the level of apoptosis was also found to be relatively suppressed in SW620Ad300 cells as compared with the parental SW620 cells.Interestingly,although cryptotanshinone and dihydrotanshinone induced less apoptosis in SW620Ad300 cells as compared to their parental cells,they produced more autophagic cell death in these MDR cells.In this regard,the drug resistant SW620Ad300 cells were more prone to cell death in response to the anti-cancer action of thetwo tanshinones.Furthermore,the cytotoxic action of the two tanshinones was shown to be p53-independent,further demonstrated theirunique anti-cancer activities in overcoming drug resistance due to the reduction of p53 expression together with a decrease of apoptosis in colon cancer cells.Taken together,the current findings indicate a great potential for cryptotanshinone and dihydrotanshinone against MDR colon cancer cells,in spite of P-gp overexpression and suppression of apoptosis.They are promising candidates to be developed as therapeutic agents and/or as an adjuvant therapy for colorectal cancer,especially for patients with MDR cancer types.     

咯萘啶逆转肿瘤多药耐药及其作用机制

目的:利用mdr1~ 的人白血病和乳腺癌多药耐药(MDR)细胞系K562/A02和MCF-7/ADR研究咯萘啶(pyronaridine,PND)对MDR的逆转作用及其机制.方法:采用MTT法、荧光分光光度法、荧光显微镜法、流式细胞仪法和RT-PCR法分别测定PND单独或与阿霉素(DOX)合用,对肿瘤细胞的生长抑制、诱导凋亡、细胞内药物浓度、mdr1基因表达的影响.结果:PND对敏感及耐药细胞均具有生长抑制作用,半数抑制剂量(IC_(50))根据不同细胞在5.10-18.66μmol/L之间;低毒剂量PND显著增强DOX对耐药细胞的细胞毒和诱导凋亡作用,且增加DOX在耐药细胞内的蓄积及减少罗丹明(Rh123)的外排.RT-PCR结果显示,PND对mdr1基因无下调作用.结论:PND可作为第三代P-糖蛋白(P-gp)抑制剂,通过下调P-gp药物外排泵功能而产生强大的逆转MDR效应.     

Reversal of P-glycoprotein mediated multidrug resistance in K562 cell line by a novel synthetic calmodulin inhibitor, E6

The overexpression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is associated with multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumor cells to a number of chemotherapeutic drugs. P-gp inhibitors have been shown to effectively reverse P-gp-mediated MDR in both in vitro and in vivo. Our previous studies demonstrated that E6, a novel synthetic calmodulin inhibitor, exhibited potent inhibitory effect on P-gp in rat brain microvessel endothelial cells (RBMECs). In the present study, the effect of E6 on MDR in a K562 MDR cell line (K562/DOX) highly expressing P-gp was studied and compared with that of a conventional P-gp inhibitor, verapamil (VER). E6 at concentrations of 1, 3, 10, 30 microM reduced the IC50 value of doxorubicin in K562/DOX cells from 79.19 microM to 35.18, 21.86, 6.31 and 1.97 microM, respectively. However, the IC50 value of doxorubicin in K562 sensitive subline was not significantly changed by E6. Using a DNA content analysis and an annexin V binding assay, the effects of E6 on doxorubicin-induced apoptosis were also examined. The results indicated that E6 effectively reversed the resistance to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in K562/DOX cells. In addition, co-treatment of E6 and doxorubicin resulted in a remarkably G2/M blocking effect in K562/DOX cells. Furthermore, the treatment of K562/DOX cells with 10 microM E6 led to increased intracellular accumulation and decreased efflux of doxorubicin. Overall, the pharmacological effects of E6 on P-gp-mediated MDR is much stronger than that of positive control drug VER. These results suggested that E6 is a novel and potent MDR reversal agent and may be a potential adjunctive agent for tumor chemotherapy.     

四氢异喹啉类化合物HZ08逆转白血病K562/DOX细胞多药耐药性的试验研究

目的:探讨四氢异喹啉类化合物HZ08对人白血病多药耐药K562/DOX细胞的逆转作用及其可能的机制。方法:采用MTT法检测HZ08的体外细胞毒性及其对阿霉素(DOX)的增敏作用,采用逆转倍数(RF)值评价其逆转效果;应用流式细胞仪分析细胞内罗丹明123(Rh123)潴留量的变化和DOX浓度,评价P糖蛋白(P-gp)的功能;采用Western blot法及免疫细胞化学法测定mdr1基因产物P-gp的表达;同时以人白血病敏感细胞株K562/S细胞为对照进行比较试验。结果:与K562/S细胞比较,HZ08可明显增强DOX对K562/DOX的细胞毒性,RF值增加;HZ08能浓度相关性地增加K562/DOX细胞对Rh123的摄取以及细胞内Rh123的潴留,明显抑制P-gp介导的Rh123外排;K562/DOX细胞膜上P-gp呈强阳性表达,但HZ08对K562/DOX细胞P-gp表达水平无明显影响;HZ08可显著增加K562/DOX细胞内DOX浓度。结论:HZ08可通过抑制K562/DOX细胞P-gp的功能、增加耐药细胞内DOX的浓度而增强K562/DOX细胞对DOX的敏感性,其可能成为有效的多药耐药逆转剂的候选药物。     

功劳木中异汉防己碱对P-糖蛋白介导的人乳腺癌细胞多药耐药性的逆转作用

本文探讨了异汉防己碱对P-糖蛋白(P-gp)介导的人乳腺癌细胞多药耐药性的逆转作用。首先以RT-PCR和免疫组化方法分别从RNA和蛋白水平检测MCF-7/DOX细胞P-gp表达情况，以明确MCF-7/DOX细胞的耐药特征；然后采用MTT法检测异汉防己碱的内在细胞毒性及其对阿霉素(DOX)的增敏作用，并以RF(reversal fold)值评价其逆转效果；同时应用流式细胞仪(FCM)对细胞内DOX的蓄积量进行了分析；再以免疫组化方法检测异汉防己碱对MCF-7/DOX细胞P-gp表达水平的影响；最后采用罗丹明蓄积和外排试验检测了异汉防己碱对P-gp功能的影响。整个试验以维拉帕米作为阳性对照。实验结果表明：MCF-7/DOX细胞是具有多药耐药表型且P-gp表达阳性的细胞株；无毒剂量异汉防己碱可明显增强DOX对MCF-7/DOX细胞的细胞毒性(RF=3.89)，明显高于维拉帕米(RF=2.54)的逆转活性(P<0.05)，但其几乎不影响DOX对MCF-7细胞的抑制作用；异汉防己碱对MCF-7/DOX细胞P-gp表达水平无明显影响，但其可有效抑制P-gp的药物外排功能。因此，异汉防己碱可有效逆转P-gp介导的人乳腺癌细胞的多药耐药性，它可能成为有效多药耐药逆转剂的候选药物。     

The reversal effects of piperine and (R)-(+)-citronellal on multidrug resistant breast cancer cells

Multidrug resistance (MDR) in tumor cells can reduce the efficacy of chemotherapy. Overexpression of transporters is an important mechanism for MDR. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an ATP-binding cassette transporter frequently expressed in multidrugresistant tumor cells, inducing MDR. To reverse P-gp dependent MDR, anticancer drugs can be administered with P-gp inhibitors. Piperine and (R)-(+)-citronellal both are P-gp inhibitors from dietary sources. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the MDR reversal effects of piperine and (R)-(+)-citronellal in multidrug resistant MCF-7/DOX cells. The results of cytotoxicity studies indicated that piperine and (R)-(+)-citronellal both could abate the resistance of MCF-7/DOX after 72-h incubation. After 72-h incubation, piperine could dose-dependently down-regulate the MDR1 expression at the mRNA level, while (R)-(+)-citronellal had no effect on the MDR1 expression. Therefore, piperine and (R)-(+)-citronellal both could reverse MDR in MCF-7/DOX cells, and the reversal effect of piperine was related to dose-dependent down-regulation of the MDR1 expression at the mRNA level.     

Persistent reversal of P-glycoprotein-mediated daunorubicin resistance by tetrandrine in multidrug-resistant human T lymphoblastoid leukemia MOLT-4 cells

Multidrug resistance (MDR) represents a major problem in cancer chemotherapy. P-glycoprotein (P-gp), the drug efflux pump that mediates this resistance, can be inhibited by compounds with a variety of pharmacological functions, thus circumventing the MDR phenotype. The present study was performed to evaluate a unique MDR-reversal feature of a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid tetrandrine (TET) in a P-gp expressing MOLT-4 MDR line (MOLT-4/DNR) established in our laboratory. Cell viability was determined by an MTT assay. P-gp function was characterized by determining the Rh123 accumulation/efflux capacity. P-gp overexpression in resistant MOLT-4/DNR cells was confirmed by flow cytometry analysis after staining with phycoerythrin-conjugated anti-P-gp monoclonal antibody 17F9. Compared to ciclosporin A (CsA), TET exhibited stronger activity to reverse drug resistance to daunorubicin (DNR), vinblastine (VLB) and doxorubicin (DOX) in MOLT-4/DNR cells. TET showed no cytotoxic effects on parental MOLT-4 cells lacking P-gp expression or on the resistant MOLT-4/DNR cells. TET modulated DNR cytotoxicity even after it was washed with the medium for 24 h, while CsA almost completely lost its reversal capability 24 h after washing. TET and CsA similarly increased the accumulation of Rh123 in resistant MOLT-4/DNR cells. However, TET inhibited Rh123 efflux from resistant cells even after washing with the medium, while CsA rapidly lost its ability to inhibit Rh123 efflux after washing. The current study suggests that TET enhances the cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs in the P-gp expressing MDR cell line by modulating P-gp in a different manner to the well-known P-gp inhibitor CsA.     

Coformulation of doxorubicin and curcumin in poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles suppresses the development of multidrug resistance in K562 cells

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a broad-spectrum anthracycline antibiotic used to treat a variety of cancers including leukemia. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) blasts like K562 cells are resistant to apoptosis induced by DOX due to several reasons, the primary being the sequestration of drug into cytoplasmic vesicles and induction of multidrug resistance (MDR) gene expression with DOX treatment resulting in intracellular resistance to this drug. Moreover, expression of antiapoptotic protein BCL-2 and the hybrid gene bcr/abl in K562 cells contributes resistance to DOX. Studies have shown that curcumin (CUR) has a pleiotropic therapeutic effect in cancer treatment, as it is an inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) as well as a potent downregulator of MDR transporters. In this study, we investigated the potential benefit of using DOX and CUR in a single nanoparticle (NP) formulation to inhibit the development of drug resistance for the enhancement of antiproliferative activity of DOX in K562 cells. Results illustrate that the dual (DOX+CUR) drug loaded NPs were effectively delivered into K562 cells. CUR not only facilitates the retention of DOX in nucleus for a longer period of time but also inhibits the gradual expression of MDR1 and BCL-2 at the mRNA level in K562 cells. Moreover, Western blot results confirm that in combination both of the drugs were capable of inducing apoptosis even if in a lower concentration compared to either single drug in both solution or in formulation. Combinational therapy by using DOX and CUR, especially when administered in the NP formulation, has enhanced the cytotoxicity in K562 cells by promoting the apoptotic response. Overall, this combinational strategy has significant promise in the clinical management of intractable diseases, especially leukemia.     

The ability of selected pyridinium salts to increase the cytotoxic activity of vincristine but not doxorubicin towards sensitive and multidrug resistant promyelocytic leukaemia HL60 cells

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of selected pyridinium salts, 1-methyl-3-nitropyridine chloride (MNP(+)Cl(-)) and 3,3,6,6,10-pentamethyl-3,4,6,7-tetrahydro-[1,8(2H,5H)-dion]acridine chloride (MDION(+)Cl(-)), on the activity of doxorubicin (DOX) and vincristine (VINC) towards human promyelocytic leukaemia HL60 cells as well as its multidrug resistant (MDR) sublines exhibiting two different phenotypes of MDR related to the overexpression of P-glycoprotein (HL60/VINC) or MRP1 (HL60/DOX). MNP and MDION salts were much less cytotoxic themselves (about 100-fold and 2000-fold compared with DOX and VINC, respectively) against HL60 cells but, in contrast to DOX and VINC, they conserved an important cytotoxic activity towards resistant HL60/VINC and HL60/DOX cells (resistance factor, RF = 2-4.5). It was shown that MNP(+)Cl(-) and MDION(+)Cl(-) increased the cytotoxicity of non-bioreductive antitumour agent VINC towards human promyelocytic leukaemia HL60 cells and its resistant sublines HL60/VINC and HL60/DOX. However, in the case of DOX the decrease in its cytotoxic activity towards all studied cell lines was observed in the presence of MNP(+)Cl(-) and MDION(+)Cl(-). Presented data suggest that the bioreductive drug DOX, in contrast to VINC, could compete with pyridinium salts (MNP(+)Cl(-) and MDION(+)Cl(-)) for NADPH-dependent oxidoreductases and for undergoing cellular reductive activation. This could explain the inefficiency of these salts to increase the cytotoxic activity of DOX against examined leukaemic HL60 cell line and its MDR sublines, HL60/VINC and HL60/DOX.     

Ultrasound-Induced Hyperthermia Increases Cellular Uptake and Cytotoxicity of P-Glycoprotein Substrates in Multi-Drug Resistant Cells

Purpose. Localized hyperthermia has been shown previously to augment the cytotoxicity of some lipophilic anticancer drugs. Because many of the substrates for the multi-drug resistance (MDR) transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) are lipophilic in nature, studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that hyperthermia induced by ultrasound could also increase cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of P-gp substrates by P-gp-expressing cells. Methods. To test this hypothesis, we studied the effects of hyperthermia and ultrasound on cellular accumulation of putative P-gp substrates, rhodamine 123 (R123) and doxorubicin (DOX), and cytotoxicity of DOX in the parent and MDR variants of two human cancer cell lines. Results. Treatment of cells with hyperthermia or ultrasound (20 min at 41°C) both caused a significant increase over controls (no ultrasound treatment) in R123 and DOX accumulation in the parent and MDR lines of MV522 and KB cells. Ultrasound also substantially increased the antiproliferative effects of DOX in both the parent and MDR variants of MV522 and KB cell lines when compared with controls. Our results also indicated that ultrasound exerted a much greater effect on cellular accumulation of R123 and DOX and cytotoxicity enhancement of DOX in the MDR variants than putative P-gp antagonist such as verapamil. Conclusion. The present results point to the potential use of ultrasound-induced hyperthermia as a much safer alternative to P-gp antagonist for reversal of MDR.     

Anthrapyridones, a novel group of antitumour non-cross resistant anthraquinone analogues. Synthesis and molecular basis of the cytotoxic activity towards K562/DOX cells

1. Multidrug resistance (MDR) to antitumour agents, structurally dissimilar and having different intracellular targets, is the major problem in cancer therapy. MDR phenomenon is associated with the presence of membrane proteins which belong to the ATP-binding cassette family transporters responsible for the active drug efflux leading to the decreased intracellular accumulation. 2. The search of new compounds able to overcome MDR is of prime importance. 3. Recently we have synthesized a new family of anthrapyridone compounds. The series contained derivatives modified with appropriate hydrophobic or hydrophylic substituents at the side chain. 4. The interaction of these derivatives with erythroleukemia K562 sensitive and K562/DOX resistant (overexpressing P-glycoprotein) cell lines has been examined. The study was performed using a spectrofluorometric method which allows to continuously follow the uptake and efflux of fluorescent molecules by living cells. 5. It was demonstrated that the increase in the lipophilicity of anthrapyridones favoured the very fast cellular uptake exceeding the rate of P-gp dependent efflux out of the cell. For these derivatives, very high accumulation (the same for sensitive and resistant cells) was observed and the in vitro biological data confirmed that these compounds exhibited comparable cytotoxic activity towards sensitive and P-gp resistant cell line. In contrast, anthrapyridones modified with hydrophylic substituents exhibited relatively low kinetics of cellular uptake. 6. For these derivatives decreased accumulation in resistant cells was observed and the in vitro biological data demonstrated that they were much less active against P-gp resistant cells in comparison to sensitive cells. 7.We also studied, using confocal microscopy, the intracellular distribution of anthrapyridones in NIH-3T3 cells. Our data showed that these compounds were strongly accumulated in the nucleus and lysosomes.     

Antitumor agents. 293. Nontoxic dimethyl-4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethylenedioxybiphenyl-2,2'-dicarboxylate (DDB) analogues chemosensitize multidrug-resistant cancer cells to clinical anticancer drugs

Novel dimethyl-4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethylenedioxybiphenyl-2,2'-dicarboxylate (DDB) analogues were designed and synthesized to improve their chemosensitizing action on KBvin (vincristine-resistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma) cells, a multidrug resistant cell line overexpressing P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Structure-activity relationship analysis showed that aromatic and bulky aliphatic side chains at the 2,2'-positions effectively and significantly sensitized P-gp overexpressing multidrug resistant (MDR) cells to anticancer drugs, such as paclitaxel (TAX), vincristine (VCR), and doxorubicin (DOX). DDB derivatives 16 and 23 showed 5-10 times more effective reversal ability than verapamil (VRP) for TAX and VCR. Analogue 6 also exhibited five times greater chemosensitizing effect against DOX than VRP. Importantly, no cytotoxicity was observed by the active DDB analogues against both non-MDR and MDR cells, suggesting that DDB analogues serve as novel lead compounds for the development of chemosensitizers to overcome the MDR phenotype. The mechanism of action studies demonstrated that effective inhibition of P-glycoprotein by DDB analogues dramatically elevated the cellular concentration of anticancer drugs.     

Effect of curcumin on multidrug resistance in resistant human gastric carcinoma cell line SGC7901/VCR

AIM: To investigate the reversal effects of curcumin on multidrug resistance (MDR) in a resistant human gastric carcinoma cell line. METHODS: The cytotoxic effect of vincristine (VCR) was evaluated by MTT assay. The cell apoptosis induced by VCR was determined by propidium iodide (PI)-stained flow cytometry (FCM) and a morphological assay using acridine orange (AO)/ethidium bromide (EB) dual staining. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) function was demonstrated by the accumulation and efflux of rhodamine123 (Rh123) using FCM. The expression of P-gp and the activation of caspase-3 were measured by FCM using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated anti-P-gp and anti-cleaved caspase-3 antibodies, respectively. RESULTS: Curcumin, at concentrations of 5 micromol/L, 10 micromol/L, or 20 micromol/L, had no cytotoxic effect on a parent human gastric carcinoma cell line (SGC7901) or its VCR-resistant variant cell line (SGC7901/VCR). The VCR-IC50 value of the SGC7901/VCR cells was 45 times more than that of the SGC7901cells and the SGC7901/VCR cells showed apoptotic resistance to VCR. SGC7901/VCR cells treated with 5 micromol/L, 10 micromol/L, or 20 micromol/L curcumin decreased the IC50 value of VCR and promoted VCR-mediated apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Curcumin (10 micromol/L) increased Rh123 accumulation and inhibited the efflux of Rh123 in SGC7901/VCR cells, but did not change the accumulation and efflux of Rh123 in SGC7901 cells. P-gp was overexpressed in SGC7901/VCR cells, whereas it was downregulated after a 24-h treatment with curcumin (10 micromol/L). Resistant cells treated with 1 mumol/L VCR alone showed 77% lower levels of caspase-3 activation relative to SGC7901 cells, but the activation of caspase-3 in the resistant cell line increased by 44% when cells were treated with VCR in combination with curcumin. CONCLUSION: Curcumin can reverse the MDR of the human gastric carcinoma SGC7901/VCR cell line. This might be associated with decreased P-gp function and expression, and the promotion of caspase-3 activation in MDR cells.     

CJY, an isoflavone, reverses P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug-resistance in doxorubicin-resistant human myelogenous leukaemia (K562/DOX) cells

In an effort to develop safe and effective multidrug-resistance (MDR) reversing agents, the effect of CJY, an isoflavone, on the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) function and P-gp-mediated MDR was evaluated in doxorubicin-resistant human myelogenous leukaemia (K562/DOX) cells. The results showed that CJY caused a marked increase in accumulation and a notable decrease in efflux of rhodamine 123 (Rh123). The inhibitory effect of the agent on P-gp function persisted for at least 120 min after removal of 2.5 microM CJY from the incubation medium. The doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity, apoptosis and cell cycle perturbations were significantly potentiated by CJY. The intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin was also enhanced. The compound exhibited potent effects in-vitro on the reversal of P-gp-mediated MDR, suggesting that it could become a candidate as an effective MDR reversing agent in cancer chemotherapy.     

Reversal of multidrug resistance of KBV200 cells by triterpenoids isolated from Poria cocos

Multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumor cells is one of the major problems encountered during cancer chemotherapy. In this paper, we isolated eight triterpenoids from Poria cocos and evaluated their effects on reversing MDR of KBV200 cells. Eight triterpenoids increase significantly vincristine-induced cytotoxicity in drug-resistant KBV200 cells at the concentrations of 12.5 μg/mL and 25 μg/mL. Dehydrotumulosic acid showed the best reversal effect: it increased KBV200 apoptosis induced by vincristine and inhibited P-gp function through enhancing the accumulation and retention of fluorescent P-gp substrate rhodamine 123 in KBV200 cells but had no effect on P-gp expression.     

P-glycoprotein depresses cisplatin sensitivity in L1210 cells by inhibiting cisplatin-induced caspase-3 activation

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a phenomenon in which cells become resistant to cytostatic drugs and other substances with diverse chemical structures and cytotoxicity mechanisms. The most often observed molecular mechanism for MDR includes high levels of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) – an ABCB1 member of the ABC drug transporter family. Overexpression of P-gp in neoplastic tissue is an obstacle to chemotherapeutic treatment. Herein, we were focused on differences in apoptosis induced by cisplatin (no substrate for P-gp) between P-gp-positive and P-gp-negative L1210 cells. P-gp-positive cells were obtained by either L1210 cell adaptation to vincristine (R) or L1210 cell transfection with the human gene for P-gp (T) and compared with parental L1210 cells (S). R and T cells were more resistant to CisPt than S cells. R and T cell resistance to CisPt-induced apoptosis could not be reversed by verapamil (a well-known P-gp inhibitor), which excludes P-gp transport activity as a cause of CisPt resistance. CisPt induced a more pronounced entry into apoptosis in S than R and T cells, which was measured using the annexin-V/propidium iodide apoptosis kit. CisPt induced more pronounced caspase-3 activation in S than R and T cells. CisPt did not induce changes in the P-gp protein level for R and T cells. While similar levels of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins were observed in P-gp-negative and P-gp-positive cells, CisPt induced a more significant decrease in Bcl-2 levels for S cells than P-gp-positive cells. Expression of p53 and its molecular chaperone Hsp90 were more pronounced in R and T than S cells. Moreover, CisPt enhanced the upregulation of p53 and Hsp90 in R and T cells to a higher degree than S cells. Apoptosis was shown to be the prevalent mode of cell death in S, R and T cells by the typical DNA fragmentation and cell ultrastructure changes.All of the above findings indicate that P-gp, independent of its drug efflux activity, induced changes in cell regulatory pathways that confer a partial loss of cisplatin sensitivity.     

Multifunctional PLGA nanoparticles combining transferrin-targetability and pH-stimuli sensitivity enhanced doxorubicin intracellular delivery and in vitro antineoplastic activity in MDR tumor cells

Targeted delivery aims to enhance cellular uptake and improve therapeutic outcome with higher disease specificity. The expression of transferrin receptor (TfR) is upregulated on tumor cells, which make the protein Tf and its receptor vastly relevant when applied to targeting strategies. Here, we proposed Tf-decorated pH-sensitive PLGA nanoparticles containing the chemosensitizer poloxamer as a carrier for doxorubicin delivery to tumor cells (Tf-DOX-PLGA-NPs), aiming at alleviating multidrug resistance (MDR). We performed a range of in vitro studies to assess whether targeted NPs have the ability to improve DOX antitumor potential on resistant NCI/ADR-RES cells. All evaluations of the Tf-decorated NPs were performed comparatively to the nontargeted counterparts, aiming to evidence the real role of NP surface functionalization, along with the benefits of pH-sensitivity and poloxamer, in the improvement of antiproliferative activity and reversal of MDR. Tf-DOX-PLGA-NPs induced higher number of apoptotic events and ROS generation, along with cell cycle arrest. Moreover, they were efficiently internalized by NCI/ADR-RES cells, increasing DOX intracellular accumulation, which supports the greater cell killing ability of these targeted NPs with respect to MDR cells. Altogether, these findings supported the effectiveness of the Tf-surface modification of DOX-PLGA-NPs for an improved antiproliferative activity. Therefore, our pH-responsive Tf-inspired NPs are a promising smart drug delivery system to overcome MDR effect at some extent, enhancing the efficacy of DOX antitumor therapy.     

Verotoxin-1 treatment or manipulation of its receptor globotriaosylceramide (gb3) for reversal of multidrug resistance to cancer chemotherapy

A major problem with anti-cancer drug treatment is the development of acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) of the tumor cells. Verotoxin-1 (VT-1) exerts its cytotoxicity by targeting the globotriaosylceramide membrane receptor (Gb3), a glycolipid associated with multidrug resistance. Gb3 is overexpressed in many human tumors and tumor cell lines with inherent or acquired MDR. Gb3 is co-expressed and interplays with the membrane efflux transporter P-gp encoded by the MDR1 gene. P-gp could act as a lipid flippase and stimulate Gb3 induction when tumor cells are exposed to cancer chemotherapy. Recent work has shown that apoptosis and inherent or acquired multidrug resistance in Gb3-expressing tumors could be affected by VT-1 holotoxin, a sub-toxic concentration of the holotoxin concomitant with chemotherapy or its Gb3-binding B-subunit coupled to cytotoxic or immunomodulatory drug, as well as chemical manipulation of Gb3 expression. The interplay between Gb3 and P-gp thus gives a possible physiological approach to augment the chemotherapeutic effect in multidrug resistant tumors.