Transport of glutathione conjugates into secretory vesicles is mediated by the multidrug-resistance protein 1.

Intracellular glutathione-conjugate transport was evaluated in the human small cell lung carcinoma cell line GLC4 with low multidrug resistance protein (MRP1) expression and its 300x doxorubicin-resistant, MRP1-over-expressing, GLC4-Adr subline. Transport of non-toxic concentrations of monochlorobimane and 5-chloro-methyl fluorescein diacetate was evaluated using fluorescence microscopy. After exposure to these compounds, fluorescence was observed especially in intracellular vesicles in GLC4-Adr. Immunotransmission electron microscopy showed that MRP1 was present in the vesicle membranes and plasma membrane, while inside the vesicles the glutathione conjugate of 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene could be detected. Experiments with brefeldin A, which induces arrest in vesicle release from the Golgi complex, indicated that these vesicles may originate from the trans-Golgi network. In GLC4-Adr cells, doxorubicin also was transported in vesicles, with an arrest in vesicle release from the Golgi complex. Our results indicate that MRP1 functions as a glutathione-conjugate transporter not only at the plasma membrane but also in intracellular secretory vesicles.