The transmembrane domain 10 of the yeast Pdr5p ABC antifungal efflux pump determines both substrate specificity and inhibitor susceptibility.

We have previously shown that a S1360F mutation in transmembrane domain 10 (TMD10) of the Pdr5p ABC transporter modulates substrate specificity and simultaneously leads to a loss of FK506 inhibition. In this study, we have constructed and characterized the S1360F/A/T and T1364F/A/S mutations located in the hydrophilic face of the amphipatic Pdr5p TMD10. A T1364F mutation leads to a reduction in Pdr5p-mediated azole and rhodamine 6G resistance. Like S1360F, the T1364F and T1364A mutants were nearly non-responsive to FK506 inhibition. Most remarkably, however, the S1360A mutation increases FK506 inhibitor susceptibility, because Pdr5p-S1360A is hypersensitive to FK506 inhibition when compared with either wild-type Pdr5p or the non-responsive S1360F variant. Hence, the Pdr5p TMD10 determines both azole substrate specificity and susceptibility to reversal agents. This is the first demonstration of a eukaryotic ABC transporter where a single residue change causes either a loss or a gain in inhibitor susceptibility, depending on the nature of the mutational change. These results have important implications for the design of efficient reversal agents that could be used to overcome multidrug resistance mediated by ABC transporter overexpression.