DRUG RESISTANCE: THE STATUS OF THE PROBLEM AND THE SEARCH OF WAYS TO OVERCOME IT (literature review and own research)

The ability of multicellular associates to undergo changes that provide increased resistance to adverse environmental factors determines the development of drug resistance. Over the past decades, it has turned into a complex medical and social problem, which complicates significantly the treatment of countless diseases. In particular, the rapid formation and spread of antibiotic-resistant forms of microorganisms causes the risk of relegating clinical medicine to the pre-antibiotic era. An equally acute problem is the growing resistance of cells of malignant neoplasms to the action of cytostatics as the tumor progresses and during its recurrence. The obvious relevance of these problems for means of counteracting such changes determines the unabated interest in elucidating the molecular and cellular bases of the development of drug resistance. The existence of a certain parallel in the functioning of the cellular societies of biofilms and malignant neoplasms allows us to approach the understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the development of drug resistance. The role of disruption of the barrier function of the outer cell membranes and the increase in their permeability to extracellular nucleic components is shown in this process. The role of individual components of cellular associates in the formation of drug-resistant, mechanisms of their spread and malignization of surrounding tissues is discussed.
Key words: drug resistance, biofilms, malignant neoplasms, cell membranes.