Inhibition of Integrin-HER2 signaling by Cucurbitacin B leads to in vitro and in vivo breast tumor growth suppression

Oncotarget. 2014 Apr 15;5(7):1812-28. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.1743.

Abstract

HER2, an oncogenic receptor is overexpressed in about 25-30% of breast cancer patients. HER2 has been shown to play role in tumor promotion by having cross-talk with multiple oncogenic pathways in cancer cells. Our results show that Cucurbitacin B (CuB), a triterpenoid steroidal compound inhibited the growth of various breast cancer cells with an IC50 ranging from 18-50nM after 48 and 72 h of treatment. Our study also revealed the significant inhibitory effects of CuB on HER2 and integrin signaling in breast cancer. Notably, CuB inhibited ITGA6 and ITGB4 (integrin α6 and integrin β4), which are overexpressed in breast cancer. Furthermore, CuB also induced the expression of major ITGB1and ITGB3, which are known to cause integrin-mediated cell death. In addition, we observed that TGFβ treatment resulted in the increased association of HER2 with ITGA6 and this association was inhibited by CuB treatment. Efficacy of CuB was tested in vivo using two different orthotopic models of breast cancer. MDA-MB-231 and 4T-1 cells were injected orthotopically in the mammary fat pad of female athymic nude mice or BALB/c mice respectively. Our results showed that CuB administration inhibited MDA-MB-231 orthotopic tumors by 55%, and 4T-1 tumors by 40%. The 4T-1 cells represent stage IV breast cancer and form very aggressive tumors. CuB mediated breast tumor growth suppression was associated with the inhibition of HER2/integrin signaling. Our results suggest novel targets of CuB in breast cancer in vitro and in vivo.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • ErbB Receptors / metabolism
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • Integrin alpha6 / metabolism*
  • Integrin alpha6beta4 / metabolism
  • Integrin beta1 / metabolism
  • Integrin beta3 / metabolism
  • Integrin beta4 / metabolism*
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System / drug effects
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Nude
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Phosphorylation / drug effects
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism
  • Receptor, ErbB-2 / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects*
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta / metabolism
  • Triterpenes / pharmacology*
  • Triterpenes / therapeutic use
  • Twist-Related Protein 1 / metabolism

Substances

  • ITGA6 protein, human
  • ITGB4 protein, human
  • Integrin alpha6
  • Integrin alpha6beta4
  • Integrin beta1
  • Integrin beta3
  • Integrin beta4
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • TWIST1 protein, human
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta
  • Triterpenes
  • Twist-Related Protein 1
  • cucurbitacin B
  • integrin-linked kinase
  • ERBB2 protein, human
  • ErbB Receptors
  • Receptor, ErbB-2
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt