ABC transporters and drug resistance in leukemia: was P-gp nothing but the first head of the Hydra?

Abstract

More than 30 years ago it was discovered that permeability glycoprotein (P-gp) can cause drug resistance. Over the following decades numerous studies showed that high expression of P-gp is associated with poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia in adults and that it causes multidrug resistance via ATP-dependent drug efflux. It was hoped that an inhibition of P-gp could sensitize resistant leukemic cells to chemotherapy and thus improve treatment results. Today we know that the family of ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC transporters) comprises 48 different proteins. Some of them seem to be able to cause drug resistance as well as P-gp. This review focuses on emerging data on the clinical relevance of other ABC transporters, such as BCRP, MRP3, and ABCA3. When Heracles fought the ancient Hydra, he had to fight all the heads at ones but only one head was vital for the beast. Can we block all the relevant ABC transporters at once? Is there one transporter that is more important than the others?