Reversion of p-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance in human leukemic cell line by diallyl trisulfide.
Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the major obstacle in chemotherapy, which involves multiple signaling pathways. Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) is the main sulfuric compound in garlic. In the present study, we aimed to explore whether DATS could overcome P-glycoprotein-(P-gp-)mediated MDR in K562/A02 cells, and to investigate whether NF-κB suppression is involved in DATS-induced reversal of MDR. MTT assay revealed that cotreatment with DATS increased the response of K562/A02 cells to adriamycin (the resistance reversal fold was 3.79) without toxic side effects. DATS could enhance the intracellular concentration of adriamycin by inhibiting the function and expression of P-gp, as shown by flow cytometry, RT-PCR, and western blot. In addition, DATS resulted in more K562/A02 cell apoptosis, accompanied by increased expression of caspase-3. The expression of NF-κB/p65 (downregulation) was significantly linked to the drug-resistance mechanism of DATS, whereas the expression of IκBα was not affected by DATS. Our findings demonstrated that DATS can serve as a novel, nontoxic modulator of MDR, and can reverse the MDR of K562/A02 cells in vitro by increasing intracellular adriamycin concentration and inducing apoptosis. More importantly, we proved for the first time that the suppression of NF-κB possibly involves the molecular mechanism in the course of reversion by DATS.
Department of Hematology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Shandong, Jinan 250012, China.
Qing
Q
Xia
Zhi-Yong
ZY
Wang
Hui-Qing
HQ
Li
Yu-Tao
YT
Diao
Xiao-Li
XL
Li
Jia
J
Cui
Xue-Liang
XL
Chen
Hao
H
Li