Ovarian cancer cells cisplatin sensitization agents selected by mass cytometry target ABCC2 inhibition

Cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer remains a complex problem as tumors frequently develop resistance against drugs, a mechanism sometimes mediated by ATP-Binding Cassette transporters. Our goal was to find compounds restricting their inhibition capacity to the cisplatin efflux mediated by ABCC2 pump, among previously identified inhibitors, derived from the 2- indolylmethylenebenzofuranones. An original method setup allows direct quantitation of platinum by employing cyTOF mass cytometry. Among tested derivatives, some led to a full platinum accumulation and efficiently resensitized cisplatin-resistant A2780 cells to cisplatin while preserving most of the calcein efflux activity. CyTOF is therefore a powerful and promising method to quantify cisplatin accumulation that may be used in the clinical setting to improve and personalize cancer treatment.