Herceptin-Resistance and Overexpression of Anti-Apoptotic Molecule Bci-XL: A Potential Strategy for Overcoming Resistance to Herceptin

Abstract

The major goal of this Concept Award project is to investigate whether a small molecule inhibitor of Bcl-xL will be able to overcome the resistance of Her-2/neu-(+) breast cancer cells to Herceptin. (-)-gossypol showed potent anti-tumor activity to human breast cancer cell lines with high levels of Bcl-xL but has only minimal effect on human normal breast epithelial cells with low Bcl-xL. (-)-gossypol potently enhanced growth inhibition and apoptosis induction by doxorubicin and docetaxel the currently used chemotherapeutic agents for breast cancer. However interaction of (-)-gossypol with Herceptin activity in Her-2(+) breast cancer cells are still ongoing. Bcl-xL knockdown by siRNA abolished the tumorigenecity of Her-2(+) MCF-7 cells. The data support that Bcl-xL plays a critical role in breast cancer initiation progression and chemoresistance but its role in Herceptin resistance remains to be further elucidated. The study provide us a solid foundation to develop (-)-gossypol as a novel molecular targeted therapy for the treatment of breast cancer with Bcl-xL overexpression.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA453404

Entities

People

  • Liang Xu

Organizations

  • University of Michigan

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cell Line
  • Cells
  • Chemotherapeutic Agents
  • Chemotherapy
  • Department Of Defense
  • Drug Therapy
  • Inhibitors
  • Michigan
  • Molecules
  • Neoplasms
  • Patent Applications
  • Resistance
  • Small Molecules
  • Therapy
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Medicine

Readers

  • Breast cancer cell signaling and growth regulation.
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Oncology