Protein phosphatase complex PP5/PPP2R3C dephosphorylates P-glycoprotein/ABCB1 and down-regulates the expression and function

Abstract P-glycoprotein (P-gp)/ABCB1 is a key molecule of multidrug resistance in cancer. Protein phosphatase (PP) 2A, regulatory subunit B, gamma (PPP2R3C), which is a regulatory subunit of PP2A and PP5, was identified as a binding candidate to P-gp. Immunoprecipitation–western blotting revealed that PP5 and PPP2R3C were coprecipitated with P-gp, while PP2A was not. PP5/PPP2R3C dephosphorylated protein kinase A/protein kinase C-phosphorylation of P-gp. Knockdown of PP5 and/or PPP2R3C increased P-gp expression and lowered the sensitivity to vincristine and doxorubicin. Consequently, our results indicate that PP5/PPP2R3C negatively regulates P-gp expression and function.