Identification of caveolin-1 as a potential causative factor in the generation of trastuzumab resistance in breast cancer cells

The oncogenic tyrosine kinase receptor ErbB2 is a prognostic factor and target for breast cancer therapeutics. In contrast with the other ErbB receptors, ErbB2 is hardly internalized by ligand induced mechanisms, indicating a prevalent surface expression. Elevated levels of ErbB2 in tumor cells are associated with its defective endocytosis and down regulation. Here we show that caveolin-1 expression in breast cancer derived SKBR-3 cells (SKBR-3/Cav-1) facilitates ligand induced ErbB2 endocytosis using an artificial peptide ligand EC-eGFP. Similarly, stimulation with humanized anti ErbB2 antibody Trastuzumab (Herceptin) was found to be internalized and co-localized with caveolin-1 in SKBR-3/Cav-1 cells. Internalized EC-eGFP and Trastuzumab in SKBR-3/Cav-1 cells were then delivered via caveolae to the caveolin-1 containing early endosomes. Consequently, attenuated Fc receptor mediated ADCC functions were observed when exposed to Trastuzumab and EC-Fc (EC-1 peptide conjugated to Fc part of human IgG). On the other hand, this caveolae dependent endocytic synergy was not observed in parental SKBR-3 cells. Therefore, caveolin-1 expression in breast cancer cells could be a predictive factor to estimate how cancer cells are likely to respond to Trastuzumab treatment.