Reversal of multidrug resistance of tumor cells.

Drug resistance to chemotherapy is rapidly emerging. Resistance to one drug carries over resistance to unrelated anticancer drugs leading to multidrug resistance (MDR). A major factor of MDR is P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated ABC transport found in many eukaryotic cells. P-gp acts as a drug eMux pump. The mdr1 gene involved in P-gp 170 protein production is localized in the human chromosome 7 band p2 1.0-21.1. Point mutations after cross-resistance patterns. A variety of stimuli increase the expression of the mdr1 gene: lowered extracellular pH, heat shock, arsenite, cytotoxic agents, anticancer drugs, transfection with oncogenes, HIV-I, and UV-irradiation. An alternative hypothesis to the efflux pump claims that P-gp modifies the intracellular environment to reduce accumulation of anticancer drugs in cancer cells by creating ionic or proton gradients. Chemosensitizers that block P-gp drug extrusion are generally lipid-soluble at physiological pH, possess a basic nitrogen atom and at least two co-planar rings. P-gp blocking does not depend on drug chirality. This opens the way of treating P-gp related MDR with chiral versions of drugs relatively harmless in terms of side-effects. We believe that resistance modifiers combined with cytostatics will chemotherapeutically be more effective for cancer patients.