Combination efficacy of pertuzumab and trastuzumab for trastuzumab emtansine-resistant cells exhibiting attenuated lysosomal trafficking or efflux pumps upregulation

Purpose Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is the standard treatment in the current second-line therapy of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer. However, a useful therapy after T-DM1 resistance has not been established. In this study, we established two different HER2-positive T-DM1-resistant cancer cells and evaluated the antitumor effect of trastuzumab in combination with pertuzumab (TRAS + PER). Methods Single-cell-cloned OE19 and BT-474 cells were cultured with increasing concentrations of T-DM1 to generate T-DM1-resistant OE19bTDR and BT-474bTDR cells, respectively. HER2 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Multidrug resistance proteins (MDR1 and MRP1) were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Intracellular trafficking of T-DM1 was examined by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining. Efficacy of TRAS + PER was evaluated by cell proliferation assay, HER3 and AKT phosphorylation, caspase 3/7 activity, and antitumor activity. Results HER2 expression of both resistant cells was equivalent to that of the parent cells. Overexpression of MDR1 and MRP1 was observed and affected the T-DM1 sensitivity in the OE19bTDR cells. Abnormal localization of T-DM1 into the lysosomes was observed in the BT-474bTDR cells. In BT-474bTDR cells, TRAS + PER inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT involved in HER2–HER3 signaling, and apoptosis induction and cell proliferation inhibition were significantly higher with TRAS + PER than with the individual drugs. TRAS + PER significantly suppressed tumor growth in the OE19bTDR xenograft model compared with each single agent. Conclusions The results suggest that the TRAS + PER combination may be effective in T-DM1-resistant cancer cells where HER2 overexpression is maintained.