The supplementary data include one table and 5 figures. Table S1 presents cabazitaxel cytotoxic activity in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, uterine sarcoma cell line MES-SA, and ovarian cancer cell lines ES-2, MES-OV, and OVCAR-3. Figure S1 presents the molecular structure of cabazitaxel and cytotoxicity curves for three taxanes in MCF-7 cells. Figure S2 shows an immunoblot of drug transporter proteins in parental and drug resistant variants of MCF-7. Figure S3 shown rhodamine123 and BODIPY-paclitaxel accumulation by flow cytometry in parental and resistant variants. Figure S4 shows polymerized versus soluble tubulin in parental vs resistant variants. Figure S5 shows expression of apoptotic regulators.
ARTICLE ABSTRACT
We studied mechanisms of resistance to the novel taxane cabazitaxel in established cellular models of taxane resistance. We also developed cabazitaxel-resistant variants from MCF-7 breast cancer cells by stepwise selection in drug alone (MCF-7/CTAX) or drug plus the transport inhibitor PSC-833 (MCF-7/CTAX-P). Among multidrug-resistant (MDR) variants, cabazitaxel was relatively less cross-resistant than paclitaxel and docetaxel (15- vs. 200-fold in MES-SA/Dx5 and 9- vs. 60-fold in MCF-7/TxT50, respectively). MCF-7/TxTP50 cells that were negative for MDR but had 9-fold resistance to paclitaxel were also 9-fold resistant to cabazitaxel. Selection with cabazitaxel alone (MCF-7/CTAX) yielded 33-fold resistance to cabazitaxel, 52-fold resistance to paclitaxel, activation of ABCB1, and 3-fold residual resistance to cabazitaxel with MDR inhibition. The MCF-7/CTAX-P variant did not express ABCB1, nor did it efflux rhodamine-123, BODIPY-labeled paclitaxel, and [3H]-docetaxel. These cells are hypersensitive to depolymerizing agents (vinca alkaloids and colchicine), have reduced baseline levels of stabilized microtubules, and impaired tubulin polymerization in response to taxanes (cabazitaxel or docetaxel) relative to MCF-7 parental cells. Class III β-tubulin (TUBB3) RNA and protein were elevated in both MCF-7/CTAX and MCF-7/CTAX-P. Decreased BRCA1 and altered epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers are also associated with cabazitaxel resistance in these MCF-7 variants, and may serve as predictive biomarkers for its activity in the clinical setting. In summary, cabazitaxel resistance mechanisms include MDR (although at a lower level than paclitaxel and docetaxel), and alterations in microtubule dynamicity, as manifested by higher expression of TUBB3, decreased BRCA1, and by the induction of EMT. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(1); 193–201. ©2014 AACR.
