How Do Anti-Cancer Drugs Enter Cells? (IMAGE)
Caption
The anti-cancer drugs cisplatin and carboplatin and the pro-apoptotic staurosporine enter cells through passive diffusion. Pt-based drugs induce non-apoptotic cell death, and to a lesser extent, apoptosis through DNA damage, while both Pt-based drugs and staurosporine can induce apoptosis through an additional, poorly characterized pathway. VRACs are also activated by pro-apoptotic stimuli. Channels containing LRRC8A and LRRC8D mainly transport osmolytes like taurine, but also provide a further pathway for uptake of Pt-based drugs, but not for the larger staurosporine. Thus, Pt-based drugs promote their own uptake through a feed-forward style mechanism.
Credit
Scientific Image: Thomas Jentsch, FMP/MDC
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