The relationship between the expression level of putative drug resistance factors and sensitivity to anticancer drugs in human normal renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (RPTEC) and 3 kinds of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells, VMRC-RCW (RCW), OS-RC-2 (OS2), TUHR14TKB (14TKB), was examined. RPTEC exhibited high expression of P-glycoprotein (Pgp), γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase (γGCS) and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (CDDP) resistance-related gene 9 (CRR9), low expression of vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) and no expression of multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1). 14TKB exhibited high expression of γGCS and CRR9, low expression of Pgp and V-ATPase, and no expression of MRP1. OS2 showed high expression of CRR9, low expression of Pgp, γGCS and MRP1, and no expression of V-ATPase. RCW exhibited high expression of Pgp, MRP1 and CRR9 and low expression of γGCS and V-ATPase. The level of expression of the resistance factors varied among the cells. GST activity and GST-π expression level of each cell were correlated, and there were high levels in OS2 and RPTEC. When the cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs against each cell was measured at 96 h, the sensitivity to CDDP and Doxorubicin (DXR) in RPTEC and RCW was lower than that in the other cells. Sensitivity to DXR was enhanced by treatment with the Pgp inhibitor, Verapamil, in proportion to the Pgp expression level, and the sensitivity to CDDP was increased by the γGCS inhibitor, Buthionine sulfoximine, in proportion to the γGCS expression level (corresponding to GSH content). Although a significant increase in sensitivity to CDDP was not observed by treatment of RCC with the V-ATPase inhibitor, Bafilomycin, the sensitivity to DXR in Bafilomycin-treated cells increased about 2-fold. However, no relation between drug sensitivity and V-ATPase expression was observed. The features (such as degree of resistance) varied among the RCC cell lines manifesting many resistance factors or to the contrary, lacking or having lowered resistance factors in comparison with normal cells. Therefore, it is necessary in clinical cancer chemotherapy to determine and measure the level of expression of each resistance factor in respective tumor tissue.

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