Preface: the concept and consequences of multidrug resistance.

The problem of multidrug resistance (MDR) in human cancers led to the discovery 30 years ago of a single protein P-glycoprotein (P-gp), capable of mediating resistance to multiple structurally diverse drugs. P-gp became the archetypal eukaryotic ABC transporter gene, and studies of P-gp and related ABC transporters in both eukaryotes and bacteria have led to a basic mechanistic understanding of the molecular basis of MDR. Particular milestones along the way have been the identification of the homology between P-gp and bacterial transport proteins, the purification and functional reconstitution of P-gp into synthetic lipid systems, and the development of targeted therapies that attempt to overcome MDR by inhibiting P-gp. This preface places into this context some of the less well-explored themes developed in the MDR field, particularly various alternative models of P-gp action, evidence for parallel physiological roles for P-gp, and the unusual relationship between the substrate recognition capabilities of ABC transporters and their evolutionary history.