Increased MDR1 expression in normal and malignant peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from patients receiving depsipeptide (FR901228, FK228, NSC630176).

The increased expression of markers associated with a differentiated phenotype, such as P-glycoprotein (Pgp), follows treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitors. Because depsipeptide (FR901228, FK228, NSC630176) is a substrate for Pgp, up-regulation of the gene that encodes it, MDR1, would mean that depsipeptide induces its own mechanism of resistance. To examine the effect of depsipeptide on expression of ATP-binding cassette transporters associated with multidrug resistance, the kidney cancer cell lines 108, 121, 127, and 143 were treated with depsipeptide and evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR.