ABSTRACT
Drug resistance of cancer cells is a significant impediment to effective chemotherapy. One primary reason for this is copper exporters - ATPase copper transporting alpha (ATP7A) and ATPase copper transporting beta (ATP7B). These molecular pumps belong to P-type ATPases and dispose off the Platinum (Pt) based anticancer drugs from cancer cells, causing resistance in them. For the disposal of Pt-drugs, copper exporters require phosphorylation mediated by protein kinase D (PKD) for their activation and trafficking. Even though various research works are underway to overcome resistance to anticancer drugs, the role of PKD is mainly ignored. In this study, we have found a significant upregulation of ATP7A and ATP7B in cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma cells (HepG2) in the presence of Cisplatin or Carboplatin; both at transcriptional as well as translational levels. Interestingly, the expression of ATP7A and ATP7B were significantly downregulated in the presence of a PKD inhibitor (CID2011756), resulting in the reduction of PKD mediated phosphorylation of ATP7A/7B. This causes enhancement of proteasome-mediated degradation of ATP7A/7B and thereby sensitizes the cells towards Cisplatin and Carboplatin. Similarly, the treatment of Cisplatin resistant HepG2 cells with PKD inhibitor causes enhanced sensitivity towards Cisplatin drug. However, the presence of proteasome inhibitor (MG132) reversed the effect of the PKD inhibitor on the expression level of ATP7A/7B, indicating the necessity of phosphorylation for its stability. Hence, we conclude that the combinatorial usage of Cisplatin with drugs targeting PKD can be developed as an effective chemotherapeutic approach to overcome drug resistance.