Cytotoxic drugs are used in chemotherapy against cancer, osteoporosis and severe autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. These drugs inhibit the division and growth mainly in rapidly growing cells with high metabolic rate, such as tumor cells. But they also affect the non-tumor cells, causing side effects such as gastrointestinal disorders, vomiting, diarrhea and increased risk of infection.
The technology presented describes the production of cell lines resistant to cytotoxic drugs which act inhibiting the vacuolar ATPase by means of the heterologous expression of plant or bacterial genes coding for the proton-translocating pyrophosphatase and fulfilling the role of vacuolar ATPase. These cell lines could be the basis for the restoration of tissues and organs damaged by the side effects of these drugs.

- There are no precedents of the use of proton-translocating pyrophosphatase to confer tolerance to cytotoxic drugs.

- The technology is focused on very specific drugs that have the vacuolar ATPase as molecular target. In fact the development of these drugs against cancer has been hampered by their side effects, so that this technology could facilitate its development.