title: Circumvention of multi-drug resistance of cancer cells by Chinese herbal medicines.
abstract: Multi-drug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells severely limits therapeutic outcomes. A proposed mechanism for MDR involves the efflux of anti-cancer drugs from cancer cells, primarily mediated by ATP-binding cassette (ABC) membrane transporters including P-glycoprotein. This article reviews the recent progress of using active ingredients, extracts and formulae from Chinese medicine (CM) in circumventing ABC transporters-mediated MDR. Among the ABC transporters, Pgp is the most extensively studied for its role in MDR reversal effects. While other MDR reversal mechanisms remain unclear, Pgp inhibition is a criterion for further mechanistic study. More mechanistic studies are needed to fully establish the pharmacological effects of potential MDR reversing agents.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China. linge@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.forename: Kenneth Kw
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: To
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lin