Chlorpromazine transport in membrane vesicles from multidrug resistant CCRF-CEM cells

The mechanism by which chlorpromazine (2-chloro-10-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-phenothiazine) reverses P-glycoprotein (P-gp2) mediated multidrug resistance was investigated using membrane vesicles prepared from human CCRF-CEM leukaemia cells. Chlorpromazine was transported in an ATP-dependent manner into membrane vesicles prepared from vinblastine resistant (VBL1000) cells but not from drug-sensitive cells. The chlorpromazine uptake was sensitive to osmotic pressure, indicating true transport into the vesicle lumen. The ATP-dependent chlorpromazine uptake was inhibited about 30% by the addition of ammonium chloride, indicating that a pH or electrical gradient could not account for the majority of ATP-dependent chlorpromazine uptake. The results of this study show that chlorpromazine is actively transported my P-glycoprotein and that chemosensitization by phenothiazines may occur by competition of these agents for active transport of anticancer agents by P-glycoprotein.