Hepatology : official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently overexpresses the MDR1 gene and is resistant to drugs transported by the multidrug-resistance efflux pump. A xanthine analog, 1-(11-dodecylamino-10-hydroxyundecyl)-3,7-dimethylxanthine (CT-2584,CTI), is cytotoxic to many tumors in culture and was four times more effective than verapamil in inhibiting Rhodamine 123 secretion in MDR1-overexpressing Chinese hamster ovary cells. However, studies using PRF/PLC/5 (Alexander) cells revealed that CT-2584 is cytotoxic by another mechanism not involving inhibition of MDR1 function. ⋯ In vivo, CT-2584 significantly reduced tumor growth in SCID mice bearing Alex 0 or 0.5 xenografts as determined by serial measurements of HBsAg. Hepatic parenchyma was normal, whereas apoptosis and cellular loss were observed in xenografts. The xenograft model is useful for testing pharmacological therapy of HCC.