An overview of ABC and SLC drug transporter gene regulation

Membrane transporters play a significant role in drug absorption, distribution and excretion, and they consequently affect the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of a drug. Under certain circumstances, such as pathological processes or exposure to certain substances, the expression of drug transporters is modified in cells. Change in transporter expression and function may affect cellular drug disposition resulting in different drug responses. This raises a number of questions such as which drugs are likely to modulate the expression of drug transporters, what factors support this process, and which transporters are influenced in a particular situation. In this paper, we summarize recent findings to find an answer to these questions. Particularly, we present an overview of the transcription factors involved in the regulation of a given drug transporter, the signaling transduction pathways that contribute to drug transporter gene expression, and xenobiotics and endobiotics that initiate the processes.