Identification of Novel Anthracycline Resistance Genes and Their Inhibitors

Abstract

Differentially expressed genes have been previously identified by us in multidrug-resistant tumor cells mainly resistant to doxorubicin. In the present study, we exemplarily focused on some of these genes to investigate their causative relationship with drug resistance. HMOX1, NEIL2, and PRKCA were overexpressed by lentiviral-plasmid-based transfection of HEK293 cells. An in silico drug repurposing approach was applied using virtual screening and molecular docking of FDA-approved drugs to identify inhibitors of these new drug-resistant genes. Overexpression of the selected genes conferred resistance to doxorubicin and daunorubicin but not to vincristine, docetaxel, and cisplatin, indicating the involvement of these genes in resistance to anthracyclines but not to a broader MDR phenotype. Using virtual drug screening and molecular docking analyses, we identified FDA-approved compounds (conivaptan, bexarotene, and desloratadine) that were interacting with HMOX1 and PRKCA at even stronger binding affinities than 1-(adamantan-1-yl)-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)ethenone and ellagic acid as known inhibitors of HMOX1 and PRKCA, respectively. Conivaptan treatment increased doxorubicin sensitivity of both HMOX1- and PRKCA-transfected cell lines. Bexarotene treatment had a comparable doxorubicin-sensitizing effect in HMOX1-transfected cells and desloratadine in PRKCA-transfected cells. Novel drug resistance mechanisms independent of ABC transporters have been identified that contribute to anthracycline resistance in MDR cells.