MDR1 gene polymorphism correlated with pathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma receiving interventional therapy

The ATP-binding cassette proteins ABCB1 and ABCC1 as modulators of glucocorticoid action

Responses to hormones that act through nuclear receptors are controlled by modulating hormone concentrations not only in the circulation but also within target tissues. The role of enzymes that amplify or reduce local hormone concentrations is well established for glucocorticoid and other lipophilic hormones; moreover, transmembrane transporters have proven critical in determining tissue responses to thyroid hormones. However, there has been less consideration of the role of transmembrane transport for steroid hormones. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins were first shown to influence the accumulation of glucocorticoids in cells almost three decades ago, but observations over the past 10 years suggest that differential transport propensities of both exogenous and endogenous glucocorticoids by ABCB1 and ABCC1 transporters provide a mechanism whereby different tissues are preferentially sensitive to different steroids. This Review summarizes this evidence and the new insights provided for the physiology and pharmacology of glucocorticoid action, including new approaches to glucocorticoid replacement.

Association between polymorphisms of ABCB1 and prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients treated with taxane

In China, most esophageal cancer patients are squamous cell carcinomas and treated with taxane-containing regimens; however, few studies have examined taxane pharmacokinetics genes and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) prognosis. A total of 227 pathologically confirmed ESCC patients receiving chemotherapy with taxane were included in the analysis. We genotyped seven SNPs-rs1045642, rs2032582, and rs3213619 of ABCB1; rs2231137 and rs2231142 of ABCG2; and ABCC1 rs246221 and ABCC2 rs3740066-and analyzed their relationship with overall survival. With a retrospective cohort study design, by Cox regression and semi-Bayesian shrinkage, in the genetic recessive model, the variant homozygote of ABCB1 rs1045642 was inversely associated with survival (semi-Bayesian shrinkage cHR=1.82, 95% CI=1.00, 3.31; p=0.0482). Due to inherent defects of the research itself, the finding that the ABCB1 rs1045642 variant was related to poor prognosis in ESCC patients treated with taxane-containing regimens needs to be tested in a larger population and by more genetic and molecular mechanism experiments.