g Multidrug resistance can make it difficult to treat cancer successfully with chemotherapy. What causes multidrug resistance in
cancer cells? Chemotherapy drugs and other toxins are actively pumped out of cancer cells by transmembrane proteins. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum in some cancer cells neutralizes a variety of chemotherapy drugs. The immune system identifies each chemotherapy drug as foreign and develops antibodies to each drug. Some cancer cells phagocytize chemotherapy drugs and use the lysosomes in the cell to destroy the drugs.
Chemotherapy drugs and other toxins are actively pumped out of cancer cells by transmembrane proteins.
Explanation:
Drugs inside the cell can be inactivated by oxidation and / or conjugation with glutathione, such as glutathione S-transferases, playing an important role in detoxification. However, conjugation is not enough for drug elimination. And this is where the GS-X pumps appear. Transporter proteins, such as Mrp protein, act as GS-X pumps. The PgP, Mrp and Bcrp proteins function as expulsion pumps, thus reducing the intracellular accumulation of drugs, causing resistance in cancer cells.
