title: A P-glycoprotein protects Caenorhabditis elegans against natural toxins.
abstract: P-glycoproteins can cause resistance of mammalian tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. They belong to an evolutionarily well-conserved family of ATP binding membrane transporters. Four P-glycoprotein gene homologs have been found in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans; this report describes the functional analysis of two. We found that PGP-3 is expressed in both the apical membrane of the excretory cell and in the apical membrane of intestinal cells, whereas PGP-1 is expressed only in the apical membrane of the intestinal cells and the intestinal valve. By transposon-mediated deletion mutagenesis we generated nematode strains with deleted P-glycoprotein genes and found that the pgp-3 deletion mutant, but not the pgp-1 mutant, is sensitive to both colchicine and chloroquine. Our results suggest that soil nematodes have P-glycoproteins to protect themselves against toxic compounds made by plants and microbes in the rhizosphere.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Broeks
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Calafat
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Plasterk
mesh_terms: D018435:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003078:Colchicine / Q000494:pharmacology; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000235:genetics; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D018435:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B; D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018509:DNA, Helminth; D015801:Helminth Proteins; C579802:PGP-3 protein, C elegans; D014118:Toxins, Biological; D002738:Chloroquine; D003078:Colchicine