Intratumoral heterogeneity impacts the response to anti-neu antibody therapy

BACKGROUND: Along with de novo resistance, continued exposure to trastuzumab, an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) antibody, can lead to acquired resistance. In this study, we characterize a new anti-HER2/neu antibody resistant and metastatic mouse breast carcinoma cell line, TUBO-P2J. This cell line was developed during in vivo experiments using the antibody sensitive and non-metastatic tumor line TUBO. In addition, TUBO-P2J was used to establish an intratumoral HER2 heterogenous animal tumor model to evaluate the therapeutic effects of anti-HER2/neu antibody. METHODS: After establishing the cell line, TUBO-P2J was characterized regarding its susceptibility to anti-neu antibody and chemotherapeutics, as well as its metastatic potential in vitro and in vivo. In addition, expression profiles of metastasis related genes were also evaluated. A clinically relevant intratumoral HER2 heterogenous tumor model was established by inoculating mice with tumor cells consisting of TUBO and TUBO-P2J at a ratio of 1,000:1 or 10,000:1. Tumor growth and mouse survival were used to evaluate the therapeutic effects of anti-neu antibody. RESULTS: The TUBO-P2J cell line is a HER2/neu negative and highly metastatic variant of TUBO. This cell line was resistant to anti-neu antibody therapy, and when inoculated subcutaneously, metastasized to the lungs within 14 days. Compared to the parental TUBO cell line, TUBO-P2J displayed an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related gene expression profile including: the loss of E-cadherin, and increased Vimentin, Snail, and Twist1 expression. In addition, TUBO-P2J exhibited increased invasion and migration activity, and was resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Finally, mixed tumor implantations experiments revealed that an increased percentage of TUBO-P2J rendered tumors less responsive to anti-neu antibody therapy. CONCLUSION: This study describes a novel model of intratumoral heterogenous metastatic breast cancer in immune competent mice that can be used to develop novel or combined immunotherapies to overcome antibody resistance. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2407-14-647) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.