Downregulation of taurine uptake in multidrug resistant Ehrlich ascites tumor cells

K A Poulsen, Thomas Litman, J Eriksen, J Mollerup, I H Lambert

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18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In daunorubicin resistant Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (DNR), the initial taurine uptake was reduced by 56% as compared to the parental, drug sensitive Ehrlich cells. Kinetic experiments indicated that taurine uptake in Ehrlich cells occurs via both high- and low-affinity transporters. The maximal rate constant for the initial taurine uptake was reduced by 45% (high-affinity system) and 49% (low affinity system) in the resistant subline whereas the affinity of the transporters to taurine was unchanged. By immunoblotting we identified 3 TauT protein bands in the 50-70 kDa region. A visible reduction in the intensity of the band with the lowest molecular weight was observed in resistant cells. Quantitative RT-PCR indicated a significant reduction in the amount of taurine transporter mRNA in the resistant cells. Drug resistance in DNR Ehrlich cells is associated with overexpression of the mdr1 gene product P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Using 5 progressively DNR resistant Ehrlich cell sublines with different P-gp expression pattern no correlation between taurine uptake and P-gp expression was found. Taurine uptake in MDR1 transfected NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts was in contrast to the findings in Ehrlich cells increased compared to the parental fibroblasts. It is concluded that the reduced taurine uptake in resistant Ehrlich cells reflects a down regulation of the taurine transporter at the mRNA and protein level and it is most probably not related to P-gp overexpression.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAmino Acids
Volume22
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)333-50
Number of pages18
ISSN0939-4451
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2002

Keywords

  • 3T3 Cells
  • Animals
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • Carcinoma, Ehrlich Tumor
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Daunorubicin
  • Down-Regulation
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Humans
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • Membrane Transport Proteins
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred DBA
  • P-Glycoprotein
  • Phosphorylation
  • Taurine
  • Transcription, Genetic

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