Reversal of multidrug resistance by calcium channel blocker SR33557 without photoaffinity labeling of P-glycoprotein.

The altered pharmacology of drugs in multidrug-resistant cells (decreased accumulation and retention) appears to be mediated by a high molecular weight integral membrane protein, called P-glycogprotein (P-gp). Agents known to reverse this pleiotropic drug resistance (chemosensitizers) have been shown to interact with P-gp; and as such, the inhibition of photoaffinity labeling by P-gp probes (such as [3H]azidopine) has been proposed as a basis for mass screening of chemosensitizers. In this study, we provide direct evidence that a novel calcium channel blocker (SR33557), which was 4.5 times more potent in sensitizing P388/ADR cells to doxorubicin as compared to verapamil (while inducing a similar increase in uptake and decrease in efflux of [14C]doxorubicin, did not compete for the [3H]azidopine-binding site on P-gp, whereas verapamil did. Moreover, SR33557, which is inherently photoactivable, did not photolabel P-gp, but a 65-kDa protein did appear to be an acceptor; and this binding was displaced by diltiazem and nifedipine, but not by verapamil. Finally, the implication for the participation of a sphingomyelin/sphingosine cycle (as a potential lipid second messenger system) in the chemosensitization of P388/ADR cells was investigated. 30 microM SR33557 induced a 72% inhibition in acid lysosomal sphingomyelinase activity, a 5-fold increase in sphingosine levels, and a 75% inhibition in intracellular protein kinase C activity. Although no direct link is established between these observations and P-gp activity, further studies on a possible sphingosine-mediated regulation of P-gp may yield information on the involvement of this second messenger system in the action of SR33557.