Evaluation of the expression of P-glycoprotein in propoxur-resistant Caco-2 cells.

There is a great concern about the effect of propoxur, as one of the more common N-methyl carbamate pesticides, on human health due to its extensive use in agricultural and non-agricultural applications. Caco-2 cells became resistant to propoxur, and the resistance was confirmed through MTT assay. Then the cell membrane integrity and P-glycoprotein expression were measured by LDH assay and western blot analysis, respectively and compared to the parent cells.  Contrary to what was expected, the expression of P-glycoprotein in propoxur resistant cells was lower than parent cells.This study indicates that the resistance to propoxur may not be related to P-glycoprotein expression directly, since P-glycoprotein expression has decreased in these cells.