Reversal of MRP7 (ABCC10)-mediated multidrug resistance by tariquidar

PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e55576. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055576. Epub 2013 Feb 5.

Abstract

Multidrug resistance protein 7 (MRP7, ABCC10) is a recently discovered member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family which are capable of conferring resistance to a variety of anticancer drugs, including taxanes and nucleoside analogs, in vivo. MRP7 is highly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer cells, and Mrp7-KO mice are highly sensitive to paclitaxel, making MRP7 an attractive chemotherapeutic target of non-small cell lung cancer. However, only a few inhibitors of MRP7 are currently identified, with none of them having progressed to clinical trials. We used MRP7-expressing cells to investigate whether tariquidar, a third generation inhibitor of P-glycoprotein, could inhibit MRP7-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR). We found that tariquidar, at 0.1 and 0.3 µM, significantly potentiated the sensitivity of MRP7-transfected HEK293 cells to MRP7 substrates and increased the intracellular accumulation of paclitaxel. We further demonstrated that tariquidar directly impaired paclitaxel efflux and could downregulate MRP7 protein expression in a concentration- and time-dependent manner after prolonged treatment. Our findings suggest that tariquidar, at pharmacologically achievable concentrations, reverses MRP7-mediated MDR through inhibition of MRP7 protein expression and function, and thus represents a promising therapeutic agent in the clinical treatment of chemoresistant cancer patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple / drug effects*
  • Humans
  • Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins / genetics
  • Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins / metabolism*
  • Quinolines / chemistry
  • Quinolines / pharmacology*

Substances

  • ABCC10 protein, human
  • Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins
  • Quinolines
  • tariquidar