In order to clarify the mechanisms of resistance to paclitaxel in lung cancer, three human lung cancer cell lines which exhibit different sensitivity to paclitaxel were investigated from the following viewpoints: overexpression of ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B, member 1 (ABCB1), mutations on paclitaxel binding site of β-tubulin genes, quantity of polymerized tubulin and the intracellular localization of paclitaxel. ABCB1 expression was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR. No correlations were noted between the ABCB1 expression in the sensitive and resistant cell lines at the mRNA level. No mutations on the paclitaxel binding site of the β-tubulin genes were detected in either the resistant or sensitive cells. Live cell images obtained by confocal laser microscopy revealed that the resistant cell line, RERF-LC-KJ, had more accumulation of Oregon Green® 488 conjugated paclitaxel in the lysosomal and extra-lysosomal compartments of cytoplasm than other cell lines. The results obtained in this study indicated that the changes in the subcellular localization could contribute to the production of paclitaxel resistance in lung cancer cell lines. Further studies should be conducted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that differentiate the intracellular localization of paclitaxel.

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