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Modulatory effects of curcumin on multi-drug resistance-associated protein 5 in pancreatic cancer cells

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Abstract

Purpose

Chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer often fails due to the development of intrinsic and acquired resistance during drug treatment. Recent studies have suggested that MRP5 conferred resistance to first-line drugs 5-fluorouracil and gemcitabine by active efflux of drugs from the cell. Our aim was to evaluate whether curcumin could reverse this multi-drug resistance by inhibition of MRP5-mediated efflux.

Methods

MRP5 protein was detected and localized by immunocytochemistry using a monoclonal antibody in MRP5 over-expressing HEK293 (HEK293/MRP5) cells and two pancreatic cancer cell lines PANC-1 and MiaPaCa-2. The cellular accumulation of a specific MRP5 fluorescent substrate 2′,7′-Bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) into these cells was measured by flow cytometry and the cell proliferation determined by a 72-h CyQuant assay.

Results

The cellular accumulation of BCECF in HEK293/MRP5 cells and in PANC-1 and MiaPaCa-2 cells was significantly increased by curcumin in a concentration-dependent manner. Curcumin and a MRP5 inhibitor MK571 had no apparent effects on cellular accumulation of BCECF in parental HEK293 cells. In the proliferation assays, curcumin caused a concentration-dependant increase in the sensitivity to the cytotoxic drug 5-fluorouracil in HEK293/MRP5 cells, PANC-1 and MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells, but not in parental HEK293 cells.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that curcumin is an inhibitor of MRP5 and may be useful in the reversal of multi-drug resistance in pancreatic cancer chemotherapy.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Piet Borst (the Netherlands Cancer Institute) for the HEK293, HEK293/MRP5 and HEK293/BCRP cells. This study is partially supported by National Heart Foundation, New Zealand.

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Correspondence to Yan Li.

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Li, Y., Revalde, J.L., Reid, G. et al. Modulatory effects of curcumin on multi-drug resistance-associated protein 5 in pancreatic cancer cells. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 68, 603–610 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-010-1515-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-010-1515-6

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