ABCC5

Abstract: MUC1 (CD227), a membrane tethered mucin glycoprotein, is overexpressed in >60% of human pancreatic cancers (PCs), and is associated with poor prognosis, enhanced metastasis and chemoresistance. The objective of this study was to delineate the mechanism by which MUC1 induces drug resistance in human (BxPC3 and Capan-1) and mouse (KCKO, KCM) PC cells. We report that PC cells that express high levels of MUC1 exhibit increased resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs (gemcitabine and etoposide) in comparison with cells that express low levels of MUC1. This chemo resistance was attributed to the enhanced expression of multidrug resistance (MDR) genes including ABCC1, ABCC3, ABCC5 and ABCB1. In particular, levels of MRP1 protein encoded by the ABCC1 gene were significantly higher in the MUC1-high PC cells. In BxPC3 and Capan-1 cells MUC1 upregulates MRP1 via an Akt-dependent pathway, whereas in KCM cells MUC1-mediated MRP1 upregulation is via an Akt-independent mechanism. In KCM, BxPC3 and Capan-1 cells, the cytoplasmic tail motif of MUC1 associates directly with the promoter region of the Abcc1/ABCC1 gene, indicating a possible role of MUC1 acting as a transcriptional regulator of this gene. This is the first report to show that MUC1 can directly regulate the expression of MDR genes in PC cells, and thus confer drug resistance.

Abstract: Members of the multidrug resistance protein family, notably MRP1-4/ABCC1-4, and the breast cancer resistance protein BCRP/ABCG2 have been recognized as cellular exporters for the folate antagonist methotrexate (MTX). Here we show that MRP5/ABCC5 is also an antifolate and folate exporter based on the following evidence: (a) Using membrane vesicles from HEK293 cells, we show that MRP5 transports both MTX (KM = 1.3 mmol/L and VMAX = 780 pmol per mg protein per minute) and folic acid (KM = 1.0 mmol/L and VMAX = 875 pmol per mg protein per minute). MRP5 also transports MTX-glu2 (KM = 0.7 mmol/L and VMAX = 450 pmol per mg protein per minute) but not MTX-glu3. (b) Both accumulation of total [3H]MTX and of MTX polyglutamates were significantly reduced in MRP5 overexpressing cells. (c) Cell growth inhibition studies with MRP5 transfected HEK293 cells showed that MRP5 conferred high-level resistance (>160-fold) against the antifolates MTX, GW1843, and ZD1694 (raltitrexed) in short-term (4 hours) incubations with high drug concentrations; this resistance was proportional to the MRP5 level. (d) MRP5-mediated resistance (8.5- and 2.1-fold) was also found in standard long-term incubations (72 hours) at low concentrations of ZD1694 and GW1843. These results show the potential of MRP5 to mediate transport of (anti)folates and contribute to resistance against antifolate drugs.

Abstract: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is intensively used for the treatment of primary breast cancer. In our previous studies, we reported that clinical tumor response to NAC is associated with the change of multidrug resistance (MDR) gene expression in tumors after chemotherapy. In this study we performed a combined analysis of MDR gene locus deletions in tumor DNA, MDR gene expression and clinical response to NAC in 73 BC patients. Copy number variations (CNVs) in biopsy specimens were tested using high-density microarray platform CytoScanTM HD Array (Affymetrix, USA). 75%-100% persons having deletions of MDR gene loci demonstrated the down-regulation of MDR gene expression. Expression of MDR genes was 2-8 times lower in patients with deletion than in patients having no deletion only in post-NAC tumors samples but not in tumor tissue before chemotherapy. All patients with deletions of ABCB1 ABCB 3 ABCC5 gene loci--7q21.1, 6p21.32, 3q27 correspondingly, and most patients having deletions in ABCC1 (16p13.1), ABCC2 (10q24), ABCG1 (21q22.3), ABCG2 (4q22.1), responded favorably to NAC. The analysis of all CNVs, including both amplification and deletion showed that the frequency of 13q14.2 deletion was 85% among patients bearing tumor with the deletion at least in one MDR gene locus versus 9% in patients with no deletions. Differences in the frequency of 13q14.2 deletions between the two groups were statistically significant (p = 2.03 × 10(-11), Fisher test, Bonferroni-adjusted p = 1.73 × 10(-8)). In conclusion, our study for the first time demonstrates that deletion MDR gene loci can be used as predictive marker for tumor response to NAC.