Involvement of AP-1 and NF-κB in the up-regulation of P-gp in vinblastine resistant Caco-2 cells.

Caco-2 is a widely used cell model in drug absorption and P-glycoprotein (P-gp, MDR1) substrate identification. Long-term vinblastine treatment of Caco-2 cells could increase the expression of P-gp; thus, the vinblastine resistant Caco-2 (Caco-2 vbl) cells can be used as a rapid and sensitive alternative model in identifying P-gp substrates. The mechanism of P-gp induction in this model is not clear; this study was therefore intended to clarify the possible factors involved in P-gp up-regulation in Caco-2 vbl cells. Since vinblastine is the inducer of both activator protein-1 (AP-1) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), we investigated the role of AP-1 and NF-κB in the regulation of MDR1 gene expression. Our results indicated that the AP-1 and NF-κB luciferase activity was higher in Caco-2 vbl cells than that in Caco-2 cells according to reporter gene assay. The mRNA expression of AP-1 subunit c-Jun and NF-κB was increased in Caco-2 vbl cells. The c-Jun inhibitor SP600125 and NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) suppressed the expression of MDR1 mRNA in Caco-2 vbl cells. In conclusion, this study provides the evidence that AP-1 and NF-κB are involved in the P-gp induction in Caco-2 vbl cells.