Redirection of human HER2-positive breast cancer cells

摘要

In this work, redirection was achieved by using three HER2~+ mammary tumor cell lines in vitro. It was demonstrated by attenuation of HER2 phosphorylation in vitro and reduction of sphere formation. Formation of mammospheres has correlated to stem cell function and tumor-initiation capacity. The HER2~+ breast cancer cell lines formed significantly higher numbers of spheres compared to the non-tumorigenic breast epithelial MCF10A cell line. Mammosphere formation is decreased in redirected cancer cells Breast cancer stem cells are HER2~+ regardless of pathological or genetic classification. This proves that HER2 expression is not only a target in HER2~+ breast cancer but should be targeted in all breast cancers to prevent breast cancer stem cells from recapitulating tumors following treatment. Our data demonstrates that by attenuating activity of HER2 theses cancer cells lose the capacity to form tumors in vivo and lose their cancer phenotype in vitro.