Glutathione and multidrug resistance protein transporter mediate a self-propelled disposal of bismuth in human cells.

ABSTRACT: Glutathione and multidrug resistance protein (MRP) play an important role on the metabolism of a variety of drugs. Bismuth drugs have been used to treat gastrointestinal disorder and Helicobacter pylori infection for decades without exerting acute toxicity. They were found to interact with a wide variety of biomolecules, but the major metabolic pathway remains unknown. For the first time (to our knowledge), we systematically and quantitatively studied the metabolism of bismuth in human cells. Our data demonstrated that over 90% of bismuth was passively absorbed, conjugated to glutathione, and transported into vesicles by MRP transporter. Mathematical modeling of the system reveals an interesting phenomenon. Passively absorbed bismuth consumes intracellular glutathione, which therefore acti

SUBMITTER: Hong Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4371909 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature