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. 2001 Oct;85(8):1175–1184. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2001.2044

Cross-talk between signalling pathways and the multidrug resistant protein MDR-1

S Ding 1, M Chamberlain 1,2, A McLaren 1,2, L-b Goh 1, I Duncan 3, C R Wolf 1,2
PMCID: PMC2375166  PMID: 11710832

Abstract

The multidrug resistant protein MDR-1 has been associated with the resistance to a wide range of anti-cancer drugs. Taxol is a substrate for this transporter system and is used in the treatment of a wide range of human malignancies including lung, breast and ovarian cancer. We have generated a series of ovarian cell lines resistant to this compound, all of which overexpress MDR-1 through gene amplification. We present novel evidence that a constitutive activation of the ERK1/2 MAP kinase pathway was also observed although the level of active JNK and p38 remained unchanged. Inhibition of the ERK1/2 MAP kinase pathway using UO126 or PD098059 re-sensitised the Taxol resistant cells at least 20-fold. Importantly, when Mdr-1 cDNA was stably expressed in the wild-type cell line to generate a highly Taxol-resistant sub-line, 1847/MDR5, ERK1/2 MAP kinases again became activated. This result demonstrated that the increased activity of the signalling pathway in the Taxol-resistant lines was directly attributable to MDR-1 overexpression and was not due to the effects of Taxol itself. Additionally, we demonstrated that inhibition of the P13K pathway with LY294002 sensitised the MDR-1-expressing 1847/TX0.5 cells and 1847/MDR5 cells at least 10-fold but had no effect in the wild-type cells. This finding suggests a possible role for this pathway, also, in the generation of resistance to Taxol. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign  http://www.bjcancer.com

Keywords: MAP kinase, MDR-1, drug resistance, ovarian cancer, Taxol

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Selected References

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