Single nucleotide polymorphisms in ABCC2 and ABCB1 genes and their clinical impact in physiology and drug response

Among the ABC proteins, some members including ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCC2 and ABCG2 are believed to contribute to multidrug resistance of cancer chemotherapy. In addition, the broad substrate-specificity and apical localization of the ABCB1 and ABCC2 in mucosal epithelium of intestine and hepatocyte give them a protective role against xenobiotics. The inter-individual variations in activity and expression levels of ABCB1 and ABCC2, thus, might affect on drug response and response to toxic substrates. In this review, I focus on (1) physiological and toxicological relevance of ABCB1 and ABCC2, and on (2) genetic variations of ABCB1 and ABCC2 genes and their association with biochemical function, expression level and tumor incidence.