The anticancer agent prodigiosin is not a multidrug resistance protein substrate

DNA Cell Biol. 2013 Mar;32(3):90-7. doi: 10.1089/dna.2012.1902. Epub 2013 Feb 1.

Abstract

The brilliant red pigments prodiginines are natural secondary metabolites that are produced by select species of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. These molecules have received significant attention due to their reported antibacterial, antifungal, immunosuppressive, and anticancer activities. In this study, a Serratia marcescens SER1 strain was isolated and verified using 16s rDNA. The prodigiosin was purified using silica chromatography and was analyzed by (1)H-NMR spectroscopy. The cell cytotoxic effects of the purified prodigiosin on multiple drug resistant cell lines that overexpress MDR1, BCRP, or MRP2 pumps were analyzed. Prodigiosin had nearly identical cytotoxic effects on the resistant cells in comparison to their parental lines. In agreement with the same prodigiosin cytotoxicity, FACS analysis of prodigiosin accumulation and efflux in MDR overexpressing cell lines also indicated that this pro-apoptotic agent operates independently of the presence of the MDR1, BCRP, or MRP transporter and may be a potential treatment for malignant cancer cells that overexpress multidrug resistance transporters.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B / metabolism*
  • ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 / metabolism*
  • ATP-Binding Cassette Sub-Family B Member 4
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple / immunology
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Neoplasms / pathology
  • Prodigiosin / biosynthesis
  • Prodigiosin / pharmacology*
  • Serratia marcescens / chemistry*
  • Serratia marcescens / isolation & purification
  • Serratia marcescens / metabolism
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B
  • ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Prodigiosin