Abstract
Multidrug resistance (MDR) attenuates the chemotherapy efficacy and increases the probability of cancer recurrence. The accelerated drug efflux mediated by ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters is one of the major MDR mechanisms. This study investigated if TTT-28, a newly synthesized thiazole-valine peptidomimetic, could reverse ABCB1-mediated MDR in vitro and in vivo. TTT-28 reversed the ABCB1-mediated MDR and increased the accumulation of [(3)H]-paclitaxel in ABCB1 overexpressing cells by selectively blocking the efflux function of ABCB1, but not interfering with the expression level and localization of ABCB1. Animal study revealed that TTT-28 enhanced the intratumoral concentration of paclitaxel and promoted apoptosis, thereby potently inhibiting the growth of ABCB1 overexpressing tumors. But TTT-28 did not induce the toxicity (cardiotoxicity/myelosuppression) of paclitaxel in mice. In this study, we synthesized and evaluated a novel selective inhibitor of ABCB1 (TTT-28) with high efficacy and low toxicity. The identification and characterization of this new thiazole-valine peptidomimetic will facilitate design and synthesis of a new generation of ABCB1 inhibitors, leading to further research on multidrug resistance and combination chemotherapy. Furthermore, the strategy that co-administer MDR-ABCB1 inhibitor to overcome the resistance of one FDA approved, widely used chemotherapeutic paclitaxel, may be promising direction for the field of adjuvant chemotherapy.