Reversal of Multidrug Resistance
Drug resistance is a common clinical problem that occurs in patients suffering from infectious diseases and in patients suffering from cancer. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms as well as neoplastic cells are often found to be resistant to drugs. MDR is frequently associated with overexpression of ABC transporters. Inhibition of ABC transporters by low-molecular weight compounds has been extensively investigated in cancer patients; however, the clinical results have been disappointing. Recently various RNAi strategies have been applied to reverse MDR in different tumor models and this technology is effective in reversing ABC-transporter-mediated MDR in cancer cells and is therefore a promising strategy for overcoming MDR by gene therapeutic applications. RNAi technology could also be considered for overcoming MDR in infectious diseases caused by microbial pathogens.
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