Curcumin as a Modulator of P-Glycoprotein in Cancer: Challenges and Perspectives
Multidrug resistance (MDR) presents a serious challenge to the efficiency of cancer treatment, and may be associated with the overexpression of drug efflux pumps. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a drug efflux pump often found overexpressed in cases of acquired MDR. Nevertheless, there are no P-gp inhibitor...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Published: |
MDPI AG,
2016-11-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Online Access: | Connect to this object online. |
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| Summary: | Multidrug resistance (MDR) presents a serious challenge to the efficiency of cancer treatment, and may be associated with the overexpression of drug efflux pumps. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a drug efflux pump often found overexpressed in cases of acquired MDR. Nevertheless, there are no P-gp inhibitors being used in the current clinical practice, due to toxicity problems, drug interactions, or pharmacokinetic issues. Therefore, it is important to identify novel inhibitors of P-gp activity or expression. Curcumin is a secondary metabolite isolated from the turmeric of Curcuma longa L. which has been associated with several biological activities, particularly P-gp modulatory activity (by inhibiting both P-gp function and expression). However, curcumin shows extensive metabolism and instability, which has justified the recent and intensive search for analogs of curcumin that maintain the P-gp modulatory activity but have enhanced stability. This review summarizes and compares the effects of curcumin and several curcumin analogs on P-glycoprotein function and expression, emphasizing the potential of these molecules for the possible development of safe and effective inhibitors of P-gp to overcome MDR in human cancer. |
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| Item Description: | 1424-8247 10.3390/ph9040071 |