The role of copper transporters in the development of resistance to Pt drugs

Recent studies in yeast, mouse and human cells suggest that the conserved metal binding transporters of the Cu homeostasis pathway can mediate resistance to Pt drugs in cancer cells. This review summarizes the data available from these studies. The observation that cells selected for resistance to Cu or the Pt drugs display bidirectional cross-resistance, parallel defects in the transport of Cu and the Pt drugs and altered expression of Cu transporters is consistent with the concept that the Cu homeostasis proteins regulate sensitivity to the Pt drugs by influencing their uptake, efflux and intracellular distribution. This model is supported by the finding that when mammalian and yeast cells are genetically engineered to express altered levels of the Cu transporters they exhibit altered sensitivity to Pt drugs and are defective in intracellular Pt accumulation due to altered uptake and/or efflux rates. Negative associations between the expression of ATP7A and ATP7B and the outcome of Pt therapy further support the significance of the Cu homeostasis proteins as both markers of and contributors to Pt resistance.