A short cross-linker activates human P-glycoprotein missing a catalytic carboxylate.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an ATP-dependent drug pump that protects us from toxic agents and confers multidrug resistance. It has a tweezer-like structure with each arm consisting of a transmembrane domain (TMD) and a nucleotide-binding domain (NBD). Drug substrates bind to sites within the TMDs to activate ATPase activity by promoting a tweezer-like closing of the gap between the NBDs.

Thiol-reactive drug substrates of human P-glycoprotein label the same sites to activate ATPase activity in membranes or dodecyl maltoside detergent micelles.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) is an ABC drug pump that is clinically important because it is involved in multidrug resistance. Many studies have used purified P-gp in detergent (n-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside; DM) micelles to map the locations of the drug-binding sites. A potential problem is that DM could be a substrate and affect binding of drugs to P-gp.

Corrector VX-809 promotes interactions between cytoplasmic loop one and the first nucleotide-binding domain of CFTR.

A large number of correctors have been identified that can partially repair defects in folding, stability and trafficking of CFTR processing mutants that cause cystic fibrosis (CF). The best corrector, VX-809 (Lumacaftor), has shown some promise when used in combination with a potentiator (Ivacaftor). Understanding the mechanism of VX-809 is essential for development of better correctors.

Attachment of a 'molecular spring' restores drug-stimulated ATPase activity to P-glycoprotein lacking both Q loop glutamines.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette) drug pump that is clinically important because it confers multidrug resistance. Drugs bind at the interface between the transmembrane domains to activate ATPase activity at the two nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs). Drug transport involves ATP-dependent conformational changes between inward- (open, NBDs far apart) and outward-facing (closed, NBDs close together) conformations.

Drugs Modulate Interactions between the First Nucleotide-Binding Domain and the Fourth Cytoplasmic Loop of Human P-Glycoprotein.

Drug substrates stimulate ATPase activity of the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) ATP-binding cassette drug pump by an unknown mechanism. Cross-linking analysis was performed to test if drug substrates stimulate P-gp ATPase activity by altering cross-talk at the first transmission interface linking the drug-binding [intracellular loop 4 (S909C)] and first nucleotide-binding domains [NBD1 (V472C or L443C)]. In the absence of lipid (inactive P-gp), only V472C/S909C showed cross-linking.

P-glycoprotein ATPase activity requires lipids to activate a switch at the first transmission interface.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette) drug pump. A common feature of ABC proteins is that they are organized into two wings. Each wing contains a transmembrane domain (TMD) and a nucleotide-binding domain (NBD).

Mapping the Binding Site of the Inhibitor Tariquidar That Stabilizes the First Transmembrane Domain of P-glycoprotein.

ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporters are clinically important because drug pumps like P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) confer multidrug resistance and mutant ABC proteins are responsible for many protein-folding diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Identification of the tariquidar-binding site has been the subject of intensive molecular modeling studies because it is the most potent inhibitor and corrector of P-gp. Tariquidar is a unique P-gp inhibitor because it locks the pump in a conformation that blocks drug efflux but activates ATPase activity.

The Transmission Interfaces Contribute Asymmetrically to the Assembly and Activity of Human P-glycoprotein.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp; ABCB1) is an ABC drug pump that protects us from toxic compounds. It is clinically important because it confers multidrug resistance. The homologous halves of P-gp each contain a transmembrane (TM) domain (TMD) with 6 TM segments followed by a nucleotide-binding domain (NBD).

Tariquidar inhibits P-glycoprotein drug efflux but activates ATPase activity by blocking transition to an open conformation.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) is a drug pump that confers multidrug resistance. Inhibition of P-gp would improve chemotherapy. Tariquidar is a potent P-gp inhibitor but its mechanism is unknown.

Cysteines introduced into extracellular loops 1 and 4 of human P-glycoprotein that are close only in the open conformation spontaneously form a disulfide bond that inhibits drug efflux and ATPase activity.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an ATP-binding cassette drug pump that protects us from toxic compounds and confers multidrug resistance. The protein is organized into two halves. The halves contain a transmembrane domain (TMD) with six transmembrane segments and a nucleotide-binding domain (NBD).

Identification of the distance between the homologous halves of P-glycoprotein that triggers the high/low ATPase activity switch.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) is an ATP-binding cassette drug pump that protects us from toxic compounds and confers multidrug resistance. Each homologous half contains a transmembrane domain with six transmembrane segments followed by a nucleotide-binding domain (NBD). The drug- and ATP-binding sites reside at the interface between the transmembrane domain and NBDs, respectively.

The cystic fibrosis V232D mutation inhibits CFTR maturation by disrupting a hydrophobic pocket rather than formation of aberrant interhelical hydrogen bonds.

Processing mutations that inhibit folding and trafficking of CFTR are the main cause of cystic fibrosis. Repair of CFTR mutants requires an understanding of the mechanisms of misfolding caused by processing mutations. Previous studies on helix-loop-helix fragments of the V232D processing mutation suggested that its mechanism was to lock transmembrane (TM) segments 3 and 4 together by a non-native hydrogen bond (Asp232(TM4)/Gln207(TM3)).

Locking intracellular helices 2 and 3 together inactivates human P-glycoprotein.

The P-glycoprotein (P-gp) drug pump (ABCB1) has two transmembrane domains and two nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs). Coupling of the drug-binding sites in the transmembrane domains to the NBDs occurs through interaction of the intracellular helices (IHs) with residues in the NBDs (IH1/IH4/NBD1 and IH2/IH3/NBD2). We showed previously that cross-linking of cysteines in IH3 and IH1 with a short cross-linker mimicked drug binding as it activated P-gp ATPase activity.

Drug rescue distinguishes between different structural models of human P-glycoprotein.

There is no high-resolution crystal structure of the human P-glycoprotein (P-gp) drug pump. Homology models of human P-gp based on the crystal structures of mouse or Caenorhabditis elegans P-gps show large differences in the orientation of transmembrane segment 5 (TM5). TM5 is one of the most important transmembrane segments involved in drug-substrate interactions.

Bithiazole correctors rescue CFTR mutants by two different mechanisms.

Better correctors are needed to repair cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) processing mutants that cause cystic fibrosis. Determining where the correctors bind to CFTR would aid in the development of new correctors. A recent study reported that the second nucleotide-binding domain (NBD2) was involved in binding of bithiazole correctors.

Corrector VX-809 stabilizes the first transmembrane domain of CFTR.

Processing mutations that inhibit folding and trafficking of CFTR are the main cause of cystic fibrosis (CF). A potential CF therapy would be to repair CFTR processing mutants. It has been demonstrated that processing mutants of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), CFTR's sister protein, can be efficiently repaired by a drug-rescue mechanism.

Human P-glycoprotein contains a greasy ball-and-socket joint at the second transmission interface.

The P-glycoprotein drug pump protects us from toxins. Drug-binding sites in the transmembrane (TM) domains (TMDs) are connected to the nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs) by intracellular helices (IHs). TMD-NBD cross-talk is a key step in the transport mechanism because drug binding stimulates ATP hydrolysis followed by drug efflux.

A salt bridge in intracellular loop 2 is essential for folding of human p-glycoprotein.

There is no high-resolution structure of the human P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) drug pump. Homology models based on the crystal structures of mouse and Caenorhabditis elegans P-gps show extensive contacts between intracellular loop 2 (ICL2, in the first transmembrane domain) and the second nucleotide-binding domain. Human P-gp modeled on these P-gp structures yields different ICL2 structures.

Niemann-Pick NPC1: sterols to the rescue and beyond.

In Niemann-Pick type C disease, the most prevalent I1061T mutation inhibits folding and trafficking of the NPC1 protein to the endosomes/lysosomes. In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Ohgane and colleagues used pharmacological chaperones to repair the defect and identify a second sterol-binding site.

Thiorhodamines containing amide and thioamide functionality as inhibitors of the ATP-binding cassette drug transporter P-glycoprotein (ABCB1).

Twelve thiorhodamine derivatives have been examined for their ability to stimulate the ATPase activity of purified human P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-His(10), to promote uptake of calcein AM and vinblastine into multidrug-resistant, P-gp-overexpressing MDCKII-MDR1 cells, and for their rates of transport in monolayers of multidrug-resistant, P-gp-overexpressing MDCKII-MDR1 cells. The thiorhodamine derivatives have structural diversity from amide and thioamide functionality (N,N-diethyl and N-piperidyl) at the 5-position of a 2-thienyl substituent on the thiorhodamine core and from diversity at the 3-amino substituent with N,N-dimethylamino, fused azadecalin (julolidyl), and fused N-methylcyclohexylamine (half-julolidyl) substituents. The julolidyl and half-julolidyl derivatives were more effective inhibitors of P-gp than the dimethylamino analogues.

The ATPase activity of the P-glycoprotein drug pump is highly activated when the N-terminal and central regions of the nucleotide-binding domains are linked closely together.

The P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) drug pump protects us from toxic compounds and confers multidrug resistance. Each of the homologous halves of P-gp is composed of a transmembrane domain (TMD) with 6 TM segments followed by a nucleotide-binding domain (NBD). The predicted drug- and ATP-binding sites reside at the interface between the TMDs and NBDs, respectively.

Chalcogenopyrylium compounds as modulators of the ATP-binding cassette transporters P-glycoprotein (P-gp/ABCB1) and multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1/ABCC1).

Twenty-seven chalcogenopyrylium derivatives varying in the heteroatom of the pyrylium core and substituents at the 2-, 4-, and 6-positions were examined for their effect on human MRP1-mediated uptake of tritiated estradiol glucuronide into inside-out membrane vesicles, their affinity for and ability to stimulate the ATPase activity of purified human P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-His(10), and their ability to promote uptake of calcein AM and vinblastine in multidrug-resistant cells. Differences in their effects on MRP1 and P-gp activity were noted, and a second set of thiopyrylium compounds with systematic substituent changes was examined to refine these differences further. Derivatives with tert-butyl substituents in the 2- and 6-positions had the lowest inhibitory activity toward both transporters.

Corrector-mediated rescue of misprocessed CFTR mutants can be reduced by the P-glycoprotein drug pump.

The most common cause of cystic fibrosis is deletion of Phe508 in the first nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) of the CFTR chloride channel, which inhibits protein folding. ΔF508 CFTR can be rescued by indirect approaches such as low temperature but the protein is unstable. Here, we tested our predictions that (1) other CFTR mutants such V232D and H1085R were more stable at the cell surface than ΔF508 CFTR after low temperature rescue and (2) the advantages of rescue with specific correctors (pharmacological chaperones) are that they may stabilize ΔF508 CFTR and increase the effectiveness of the correctors by bypassing drug pumps such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp) (increased bioavailability).

Predicting P-glycoprotein-mediated drug transport based on support vector machine and three-dimensional crystal structure of P-glycoprotein.

Human P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an ATP-binding cassette multidrug transporter that confers resistance to a wide range of chemotherapeutic agents in cancer cells by active efflux of the drugs from cells. P-gp also plays a key role in limiting oral absorption and brain penetration and in facilitating biliary and renal elimination of structurally diverse drugs. Thus, identification of drugs or new molecular entities to be P-gp substrates is of vital importance for predicting the pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, or tissue levels of drugs or drug candidates.

Repair of CFTR folding defects with correctors that function as pharmacological chaperones.

The major cause of cystic fibrosis is the presence of processing mutations in CFTR (such as deletion of Phe-508 (F508del-CFTR)) that disrupt folding of the protein and trafficking to the cell surface. Processing mutations appear to inhibit folding of CFTR so that it accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum as a partially folded protein. Expressing the proteins in the presence of small molecules called correctors can repair CFTR folding defects.