Resistance to cancer chemotherapy: failure in drug response from ADME to P-gp.

Cancer chemotherapy resistance (MDR) is the innate and/or acquired ability of cancer cells to evade the effects of chemotherapeutics and is one of the most pressing major dilemmas in cancer therapy. Chemotherapy resistance can arise due to several host or tumor-related factors. However, most current research is focused on tumor-specific factors and specifically genes that handle expression of pumps that efflux accumulated drugs inside malignantly transformed types of cells.

The Na+/H+ exchanger NHE1, but not the Na+, HCO3(-) cotransporter NBCn1, regulates motility of MCF7 breast cancer cells expressing constitutively active ErbB2.

We and others have shown central roles of the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger NHE1 in cell motility. The aim of this study was to determine the roles of NHE1 and of the Na(+), HCO(3)(-) cotransporter NBCn1 in motility of serum-starved MCF-7 breast cancer cells expressing constitutively active ErbB2 (ΔNErbB2). ΔNErbB2 expression elicited NBCn1 upregulation, Ser(703)-phosphorylation of NHE1, and NHE1-inhibitor (EIPA)-sensitive pericellular acidification, in conjunction with increased expression of β1 integrin and ERM proteins.

The Na+/H+ exchanger NHE1 is required for directional migration stimulated via PDGFR-alpha in the primary cilium.

We previously demonstrated that the primary cilium coordinates platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor (PDGFR) alpha-mediated migration in growth-arrested fibroblasts. In this study, we investigate the functional relationship between ciliary PDGFR-alpha and the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger NHE1 in directional cell migration. NHE1 messenger RNA and protein levels are up-regulated in NIH3T3 cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) during growth arrest, which is concomitant with cilium formation.