Mechanisms of P-Glycoprotein Regulation Under Exogenous and Endogenous Oxidative Stress In Vitro

We investigated the mechanisms of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) transporter regulation in Caco-2 cells under exogenous and endogenous oxidative stress (OS). Exogenous OS was modeled by exposure of the growth medium to hydrogen peroxide at concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, and 1 μM for 24 h or 10 μM for 72 h. Endogenous OS was modeled by incubating cells with DL-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase inhibitor) at a concentration of 10, 50, and 100 μM for 24 h. The levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were assessed using MitoTracker Red CM-H2XRos fluorescent probes. Relative P-gp contents were analyzed using Western blot. Exogenous and endogenous OS was shown to increase relative to P-gp contents. An important role played by the Nrf2-Keap1 signaling pathway in increasing the P-gp contents under H₂O₂-induced exogenous OS was revealed using specific inhibitors. The transcription factor HIF1 is involved in the regulation of the P-gp levels under 24-hour exogenous OS, and the transcription factor CAR is involved in the regulation of transporter levels under 72-hour OS. All tested transcription factors and signaling pathways are involved in P-gp induction under endogenous OS. Most likely, this is associated with the bimodal effect of BSO on Pgp. On the one hand, BSO induces the development of OS; on the other, BSO, as a xenobiotic, is able to stimulate PXR and CAR, which, in turn, increase the P-gp contents.