Ontogeny and Vulnerability of Lapatinib Drug-Tolerant Persisters in HER2-positive Breast Cancer

ABSTRACT: Despite advances in HER2-targeted therapeutics, resistance remains a significant clinical problem in HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer, especially in the metastatic setting. Drug-tolerant persisters (DTPs), a sub-population of cancer cells that survive via reversible, non-genetic mechanisms, are implicated in resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in several cancer models, but DTPs for HER2-targeted TKIs have not been characterized extensively. We found that upon treatment with the TKI lapatinib, HER2+ breast cancer lines yielded DTPs with luminal-like or mesenchymal-like transcriptional programs and differential sensitivity to lapatinib/anti-estradiol combinations. Lentiviral barcoding and single cell RNA-sequencing indicate that HER2+/ER+ cells cycle stochastically through a pre-DTP state, characterized by a G0-like signature, which uniquely gives rise to DTPs upon lapatinib exposure.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE156246 | GEO | 2021/12/13

REPOSITORIES: GEO