Abstract B47: Silver nanoparticles exhibit subtype specific cytotoxic and therapeutic effects in claudin low breast cancer in vitro and in vivo

Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are characterized by loss of expression of hormone receptors and decreased expression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). TNBC patients do not benefit from current targeted breast cancer (BC) treatments. Molecular profiling of breast cancer has found that TNBC is largely comprised of basal-like and claudin-low intrinsic molecular subtypes. Claudin-low breast cancer (CLBC) accounts for approximately one third of TNBCs, and early evidence suggests CLBC tumors may be more resistant to neoadjuvant anthracycline/taxane-based chemotherapy compared to basal-like tumors. For the development of novel breast cancer therapeutics, attention must be paid to therapeutic efficacy in specific sub-types of the disease. We discovered a type of silver nanoparticle (AgNP) that is selectively cytotoxic for treatment of CLBC. We find that the increased sensitivity of CLBC cells as compared to non-cancerous cells was independent of nanoparticle size, and CLBC cell lines (MDA-MB-231, BT-549, SUM-159) are more sensitive to AgNP exposure than luminal A BC (MCF-7), HER2 positive BC (SKBR3), and basal-like BC (MDA-MB-468, BT-20), or non-cancerous breast cells (MCF-10A, 184B5, HMT-3522 S1) via MTT assay. By treating CLBC cells and non-cancer breast cells with AgNPs or silver ions, in the form of silver nitrate, we demonstrated that intact AgNPs are necessary for selective cytotoxicity in CLBC. To determine the mechanism of cell death caused by AgNPs, annexin V (AnnV) and propidium iodide (PI) co-staining was performed on non-cancerous MCF-10A breast cells and MDA-MB-231 CLBC cells treated with AgNPs for 48 hours. AgNPs induced a dose-dependent increase in late-stage apoptosis and an increase in necrosis in MDA-MB-231 compared to vehicle control. Conversely, AgNPs had a minimal effect on late-stage apoptosis and necrosis in non-cancerous MCF-10A. Utilizing western blots, we showed that AgNPs induce oxidative damage to protein thiols and activate the unfolded protein response (UPR) in CLBC, but not in non-cancerous breast cells. To better recapitulate the tumor volume in an in vitro setting, multicellular tumor nodules from MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells or HMT-3522 S1 non-transformed mammary epithelial cells were formed by culturing the cells on basement membrane. When grown using 3D culture techniques, HMT-3522 S1 cells can develop growth arrested, polarized spherical structures containing lumens resembling a normal breast acinar structure characterized by a central lumen, cell-cell junctional complexes (including apical tight junctions, TJ), and basal expression of hemidesmosomal α6/β4 integrins ligating an endogenous basement membrane. 48h treatment with AgNPs did not prevent apical localization of the TJ marker ZO-1, alter the basal deposition of collagen-IV, induce proliferation of the growth arrested acini, or induce DNA damage. Conversely, significant amounts of DNA damage were observed in the MDA-MB-231 tumor nodules following 48h AgNP treatment. We conducted a 3 month in vivo safety/efficacy study in CLBC tumor-bearing mice where we showed that AgNPs can be delivered repeatedly at substantial doses intravenously and are effective for treatment of tumors without systemic toxicity. This is the first time any nanomaterial has been demonstrated subtype-specific therapeutic efficacy. This work demonstrates that AgNPs may provide a significant benefit for the CLBC patient population. Citation Format: Jessica L. Swanner, Iliana Tenvooren, Brian W. Bernish, Cale D. Fahrenholtz, Pierre A. Vidi, Katherine L. Cook, Ravi N. Singh. Silver nanoparticles exhibit subtype specific cytotoxic and therapeutic effects in claudin low breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Engineering and Physical Sciences in Oncology; 2016 Jun 25-28; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B47.