Mutational analysis of threonine 402 adjacent to the GXXXG dimerization motif in transmembrane segment 1 of ABCG2.

ABCG2 is an ATP-binding cassette half-transporter important in normal tissue protection, drug distribution, and excretion. ABCG2 requires homodimerization for function, though the mechanism for dimerization has not been elucidated. We conducted mutational analysis of threonine 402, three residues from the GXXXG motif in TM1, to study its potential role in ABCG2 dimerization (TXXXGXXXG).

ABCG2: a perspective.

ABCG2, or breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), is an ABC transporter that has been the subject of intense study since its discovery a decade ago. With high normal tissue expression in the brain endothelium, gastrointestinal tract, and placenta, ABCG2 is believed to be important in the protection from xenobiotics, regulating oral bioavailability, forming part of the blood-brain barrier, the blood-testis barrier, and the maternal-fetal barrier. Notably, ABCG2 is often expressed in stem cell populations, where it likely plays a role in xenobiotic protection.

Becatecarin (rebeccamycin analog, NSC 655649) is a transport substrate and induces expression of the ATP-binding cassette transporter, ABCG2, in lung carcinoma cells.

Purpose: ABCG2 overexpression has been linked to resistance to topoisomerase inhibitors, leading us to examine the potential interaction between ABCG2 and becatecarin.

Methods: Interaction with ABCG2 was determined by ATPase assay, competition of [(125)I]iodoarylazidoprazosin (IAAP) photolabeling and flow cytometry. Cellular resistance was measured in 4-day cytotoxicity assays.

The 315-316 deletion determines the BXP-21 antibody epitope but has no effect on the function of wild type ABCG2 or the Q141K variant.

ABCG2 is a half-transporter initially described in multidrug-resistant cancer cells and lately identified as an important factor in the pharmacokinetics of its substrates. Q141K is by far the most intensively studied single nucleotide polymorphism of ABCG2 with potential clinical relevance. Here we used stably transfected HEK cells to study the Q141K polymorphism together with the deletion of amino acids 315-316, which were recently reported to coexist in two cancer cell lines (A549 and SK-OV-3).

ABCG2: structure, function and role in drug response.

ABCG2 was discovered in multi-drug-resistant cancer cells, with the identification of chemotherapeutic agents, such as mitoxantrone, flavopiridol, methotrexate and irinotecan as substrates. Later, drugs from other therapeutic groups were also described as substrates, including antibiotics, antivirals, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and flavonoids. An expanding list of compounds inhibiting ABCG2 has also been generated.

Histone modifications at the ABCG2 promoter following treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitor mirror those in multidrug-resistant cells.

ABCG2 is a ubiquitous ATP-binding cassette transmembrane protein that is important in pharmacology and may play a role in stem cell biology and clinical drug resistance. To study the mechanism(s) regulating ABCG2 expression, we used ChIP to investigate the levels of acetylated histone H3, histone deacetylases (HDAC), histone acetyltransferases, and other transcription regulatory proteins associated with the ABCG2 promoter. Following selection for drug resistance and the subsequent overexpression of ABCG2, an increase in acetylated histone H3 but a decrease in class I HDACs associated with the ABCG2 promoter was observed.

Reduced expression of DNA topoisomerase I in SF295 human glioblastoma cells selected for resistance to homocamptothecin and diflomotecan.

Homocamptothecins (hCPTs) are a novel class of topoisomerase I (Top1) inhibitors with enhanced chemical stability compared with the currently used camptothecin (CPT) analogs irinotecan and topotecan. The hCPT derivative diflomotecan (BN80915) is currently in clinical trials. We established two resistant human glioblastoma cell lines, SF295/hCPT50 and SF295/BN50, by stepwise exposure of the parental SF295 line to increasing concentrations of hCPT and BN80915, respectively.

ABCG2: determining its relevance in clinical drug resistance.

Multidrug resistance is a major obstacle to successful cancer treatment. One mechanism by which cells can become resistant to chemotherapy is the expression of ABC transporters that use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to transport a wide variety of substrates across the cell membrane. There are three human ABC transporters primarily associated with the multidrug resistance phenomenon, namely Pgp, MRP1, and ABCG2.

Towards understanding the mechanism of action of the multidrug resistance-linked half-ABC transporter ABCG2: a molecular modeling study.

The ATP-binding cassette protein ABCG2 is a member of a broad family of ABC transporters with potential clinical importance as a mediator of multidrug resistance. We carried out a homology and knowledge-based, and mutationally improved molecular modeling study to establish a much needed structural framework for the protein, which could serve as guidance for further genetic, biochemical, and structural analyses. Based on homology with known structures of both full-length and nucleotide-binding domains (NBD) of ABC transporters and structural knowledge of integral membrane proteins, an initial model of ABCG2 was established.

The livestock photosensitizer, phytoporphyrin (phylloerythrin), is a substrate of the ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCG2.

Hepatogenous photosensitization occurs in livestock following damage to the liver or biliary apparatus that results in impaired excretion of phytoporphyrin (phylloerythrin), a photosensitizer. Based on earlier observations that porphyrin-based photosensitizers are substrates of the ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCG2, we examined the ability of the hepatic transporters ABCB1 (P-glycoprotein) and ABCG2 to transport phytoporphyrin. Transport of phytoporphyrin was blocked by the ABCG2-specific inhibitor fumitremorgin C (FTC) in human embryonic kidney cells transfected with full length human ABCG2, while no transport by cells transfected with human ABCB1 was noted.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms modify the transporter activity of ABCG2.

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analyses of the ABCG2 gene have revealed three nonsynonymous SNPs resulting in the amino acid changes at V12M, Q141K and D620N. To determine whether the SNPs have an effect on drug transport, human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293) were stably transfected with full length ABCG2 coding wild-type or SNP variants of ABCG2. In 4-day cytotoxicity assays with mitoxantrone, topotecan, SN-38 or diflomotecan, cells transfected with wild-type R482 ABCG2 showed IC50 values up to 1.

ABCG2-mediated transport of photosensitizers: potential impact on photodynamic therapy.

In photodynamic therapy (PDT), a tumor-selective photosensitizer is administered followed by activation of the photosensitizer by exposure to a light source of a given wavelength. This, in turn, generates reactive oxygen species that induce cellular apoptosis and necrosis in tumor tissue. Based on our earlier finding that the photosensitizer pheophorbide a is an ABCG2 substrate, we explored the ability of ABCG2 to transport photosensitizers with a structure similar to that of pheophorbide a.

Mutational analysis of ABCG2: role of the GXXXG motif.

ABCG2 (BCRP/MXR/ABCP) is a half-transporter associated with multidrug resistance that presumably homodimerizes for function. It has a conserved GXXXG motif in its first transmembrane segment, a motif that has been linked with dimerization in other proteins, e.g.

Pheophorbide a is a specific probe for ABCG2 function and inhibition.

Pheophorbide a (PhA), a chlorophyll catabolite, was shown to be an ABCG2 substrate based on Abcg2(-/-) knockout mouse studies (J. W. Jonker et al.

ABC transporters and inhibitors: new targets, new agents.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a plasma membrane pump associated with multidrug resistance (MDR), is a member of the superfamily of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. The discovery that inhibitors of drug efflux can increase drug accumulation and reverse drug resistance in the laboratory has led to the clinical development of a number of P-gp inhibitors. Initial studies were performed with agents already in use in the clinic for other indications, the 'first generation' studies.