Effects of photoactivated 5-aminolevulinic acid hexyl ester on MDR1 over-expressing human uterine sarcoma cells

The role of multi-drug resistance (MDR1) and its product, P-glycoprotein (P-gp) on 5-aminolevulinic acid hexyl ester (Hexyl-ALA) mediated phototoxicity was determined with human uterine sarcoma cells, MES-SA control and MDR1 expressing MES-SA-Dx5. MDR1 expression reduced intracellular levels of the Hexyl-ALA metabolite, protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) to a limited degree and could be reversed with a P-gp inhibitor, verapamil. P-gp expression also reduced Hexyl-ALA photosensitivity. More importantly, photoactivated Hexyl-ALA reduced at the mRNA and protein levels without altering housekeeping GAPDH mRNA. These findings suggest that Hexyl-ALA could be used to selectively reduce P-gp expression in overcoming resistance to chemotherapy agents such as doxorubicin and paclitaxel.