Because prolonged treatment of HIV infection with 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) is associated with in vitro resistance to AZT, we examined whether HIV could induce/amplify the expression of p-glycoprotein in infected cells resulting in reduced drug accumulation leading to reduced sensitivity to AZT. We show that both H9 (T cell line) and U937 (monocytic cell line) cells, upon infection with HIV, expressed increased levels of P-glycoprotein and accumulated significantly less AZT and daunorubicin as compared to uninfected cells. Sodium azide increased intracellular accumulation of daunorubicin in infected cells, suggesting a metabolically active drug efflux mechanism. Addition of cyclosporin A partially corrected intracellular drug accumulation in HIV infected cells. In addition, similar to multidrug resistant tumor cells, HIV-infected cells show depolarization of plasma membrane. Taken together, these data suggest that HIV-induced increased P-glycoprotein expression could be one of the mechanisms for reduced intracellular accumulation of antiviral agents and resistance to AZT and perhaps to other anti-retroviral agents.