IMR Press / FBL / Volume 22 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.2741/4513

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Review

Cellular efflux transporters and the potential role of natural products in combating efflux mediated drug resistance

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1 Department of Pharmacy, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 18000, Pakistan
2 Department of Pharmacy, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
3 Institute of Basic Medical Sciences (IBMS), Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar, Pakistan
4 Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NU, U.K
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2017, 22(4), 732–756; https://doi.org/10.2741/4513
Published: 1 January 2017
Abstract

Efflux mediated multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major problem in the treatment of bacterial, fungal and protozoal infections in addition to cancer chemotherapy. Among other well known mechanisms, efflux pumps are significant contributors to chemo-resistance. Efflux mediated resistance generally occurs through up-regulation of genes responsible for the expression of transporter proteins extruding drugs from the cell to create intracellular sub-therapeutic concentrations leading to resistance. The rapid expansion of MDR pathogens necessitates the discovery of resistance modifying drugs, which in combination with antimicrobial or chemotherapeutic agents would tend to reinstate the action of these drugs and avert the emergence of acquired resistance. This review describes the existence of efflux pumps in prokaryotes and eukaryotes as well as their role in chemo-resistance with a special focus on natural product-derived efflux pump inhibitors.

Keywords
Efflux Pumps
EPIs
Natural Products
Chemo-resistance
MDR
Infectious Diseases
Review
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