Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0847097 (acidity)
 15,165 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Resistance to anticancer drugs and consequent failure of chemotherapy is a complex problem severely limiting therapeutic options in metastatic cancer. Many studies have shown a role for drug efflux pumps of the ATP-binding cassette transporters family in the development of drug resistance. ClC-3, a member of the CLC family of chloride channels and transporters, is expressed in intracellular compartments of neuronal cells and involved in vesicular acidification. It has previously been suggested that acidification of intracellular organelles can promote drug resistance by increasing drug sequestration. Therefore, we hypothesized a role for ClC-3 in drug resistance. Here, we show that ClC-3 is expressed in neuroendocrine tumor cell lines, such as BON, LCC-18, and QGP-1, and localized in intracellular vesicles co-labeled with the late endosomal/lysosomal marker LAMP-1. ClC-3 overexpression increased the acidity of intracellular vesicles, as assessed by acridine orange staining, and enhanced resistance to the chemotherapeutic drug etoposide by almost doubling the IC(50) in either BON or HEK293 cell lines. Prevention of organellar acidification, by inhibition of the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase, reduced etoposide resistance. No expression of common multidrug resistance transporters, such as P-glycoprotein or multidrug-related protein-1, was detected in either the BON parental cell line or the derivative clone overexpressing ClC-3. The probable mechanism of enhanced etoposide resistance can be attributed to the increase of vesicular acidification as consequence of ClC-3 overexpression. This study therefore provides first evidence for a role of intracellular CLC proteins in the modulation of cancer drug resistance.
 ...
PMID:ClC-3 expression enhances etoposide resistance by increasing acidification of the late endocytic compartment. 1736 91

CLC-ec1, a bacterial homologue of the CLC family's transporter subclass, catalyzes transmembrane exchange of Cl(-) and H(+). Mutational analysis based on the known structure reveals several key residues required for coupling H(+) to the stoichiometric countermovement of Cl(-). E148 (Glu(ex)) transfers protons between extracellular water and the protein interior, and E203 (Glu(in)) is thought to function analogously on the intracellular face of the protein. Mutation of either residue eliminates H(+) transport while preserving Cl(-) transport. We tested the role of Glu(in) by examining structural and functional properties of mutants at this position. Certain dissociable side chains (E, D, H, K, R, but not C and Y) retain H(+)/Cl(-) exchanger activity to varying degrees, while other mutations (V, I, or C) abolish H(+) coupling and severely inhibit Cl(-) flux. Transporters substituted with other nonprotonatable side chains (Q, S, and A) show highly impaired H(+) transport with substantial Cl(-) transport. Influence on H(+) transport of side chain length and acidity was assessed using a single-cysteine mutant to introduce non-natural side chains. Crystal structures of both coupled (E203H) and uncoupled (E203V) mutants are similar to wild type. The results support the idea that Glu(in) is the internal proton-transfer residue that delivers protons from intracellular solution to the protein interior, where they couple to Cl(-) movements to bring about Cl(-)/H(+) exchange.
 ...
PMID:Intracellular proton-transfer mutants in a CLC Cl-/H+ exchanger. 1913 74