Skip to main content
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Home
Home

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses

New Research In

Physical Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Physical Sciences
  • Astronomy
  • Computer Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics

Social Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Economic Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Political Sciences
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Social Sciences

Biological Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Biological Sciences
  • Biochemistry
  • Biophysics and Computational Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Evolution
  • Genetics
  • Immunology and Inflammation
  • Medical Sciences
  • Microbiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Plant Biology
  • Population Biology
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Sustainability Science
  • Systems Biology
Research Article

HSP90 empowers evolution of resistance to hormonal therapy in human breast cancer models

Luke Whitesell, Sandro Santagata, Marc L. Mendillo, Nancy U. Lin, David A. Proia, and Susan Lindquist
PNAS December 23, 2014 111 (51) 18297-18302; first published December 8, 2014; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1421323111
Luke Whitesell
aWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: lindquist_admin@wi.mit.edu whitesell@wi.mit.edu
Sandro Santagata
aWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142;
bDepartment of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Marc L. Mendillo
aWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Nancy U. Lin
cDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
David A. Proia
dSynta Pharmaceuticals, Lexington, MA 02421;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Susan Lindquist
aWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142;
eDepartment of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142; and
fHoward Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: lindquist_admin@wi.mit.edu whitesell@wi.mit.edu
  1. Contributed by Susan Lindquist, November 7, 2014 (sent for review August 13, 2014)

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Article Figures & SI

Figures

  • Fig. 1.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Fig. 1.

    Very modest pharmacologic inhibition of HSP90 function limits the emergence of Tam resistance in cell culture. (A) Dose–response testing. MCF-7 cells were cultured for 5 d with ganetespib (Gan), Tam, or a combination of Tam (1 µM) plus serial dilutions of Gan. Concentration-dependent inhibition of relative MCF-7 cell mass was measured by standard sulforhodamine B protein assay. (B) Clonogenic assays. MCF-7 cells were cultured continuously in the presence of the indicated concentrations of the HSP90 inhibitor, ganetespib, with or without concurrent Tam (1 µM). After 1 mo, cells were fixed with cold methanol, and the macroscopic outgrowth of resistant colonies was visualized by staining with Diff-Quik. Photomicrographs of representative wells are provided in Fig. S1A.

  • Fig. 2.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Fig. 2.

    More uniform and profound cell cycle arrest is caused by exposure to a combination of Tam and low-dose HSP90 inhibitor than to either agent alone. (A) Photomicrographs of Diff-Quick-stained MCF-7 cell monolayers after 10 d in culture with Vehicle (DMSO 0.1% vol/vol and ethanol 0.01% vol/vol), Tam 1 µM, Gan 10 nM, or Gan +Tam (G+T, 1 µM + 10 nM). The white arrow indicates outgrowth of a Tam-resistant focus. All images were obtained at the same magnification. (Scale bar, 50 µm.) (B) Relative mRNA expression levels and gene set enrichment analysis for cells treated as in A. (C) Immunoblotting to assess levels of the indicated proliferation-associated proteins in lysates prepared from cultures treated as in A. Tubulin is used as a loading control.

  • Fig. 3.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Fig. 3.

    Very modest pharmacologic inhibition of HSP90 limits the emergence of Fulv resistance in ER+ breast cancer cells. (A, Upper) Macroscopic images of Diff-Quick-stained wells after culture for 1 mo in the indicated concentrations of ganetespib, with or without concomitant Fulv (1 µM). (Inset) Relative cell number per well, expressed as percentage vehicle control, was monitored using Sytox green fluorescence as a measure of DNA content. MCF-7 and T47D are estrogen-responsive human breast cancer cell lines; HCC-38 is a triple-negative, estrogen-independent cell line. (Lower) Photomicrographs obtained from the same wells. All images were acquired at the same magnification. (Scale bar, 50 µm.) (B) Combined treatment enhances the inhibition of E2F transcriptional activating activity. The indicated cell lines were stably transduced with an E2F-regulated luciferase reporter construct and treated as indicated for 10 d: vehicle (0.1% DMSO + 0.01% ethanol), ganetespib (10 nM), Fulv (1 µM), and G+F (ganetespib 10 nM + Fulv 1 µM). Reporter activity is normalized to the protein concentration in each lysate. Mean of quadruplicate determinations is presented. Error bars, SEM; *P < 10−2, **P < 10−3 (Student t test, two-sided, unpaired).

  • Fig. 4.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Fig. 4.

    Low-level HSP90 inhibition, having no effect on its own, limits the emergence of Tam resistance in mice and prolongs survival. (A) Antitumor activity of single-agent and combination treatments in estrogen-supplemented mice bearing MCF-7 xenografts. Mean tumor volume (eight mice per treatment group) is plotted. Bars, SEM. P value for the difference between Tamoxifen and Tam + STA groups was determined by two-way repeated-measures ANOVA. (B) Heterogeneity in tumor size within treatment groups at day 39 after cell implantation is reduced by combination treatment. Horizontal bars indicate median with interquartile range. P values were determined by Student t test (two-sided, unpaired). ns, not significant. (C) Combination treatment markedly prolongs event-free survival. Kaplan-Meier analysis is presented, using death or euthanasia for body condition score <2 or excess tumor volume (>1,500 mm3) as event endpoints. The P values for differences from vehicle control were determined by Log-rank test. (D) H&E staining reveals a marked effect of combination treatment on tumor histology. Images were acquired at the same magnification. (Scale bar, 50 µm.) (E) Combination treatment increases expression of membranous MUC1 staining, as monitored by immunohistochemistry (IHC). (Scale bar, 50 µm.) (F) Combination treatment enhances depletion of Cyclin D1 levels detected by IHC. (Scale bar, 50 µm.)

Data supplements

  • Supporting Information

    Files in this Data Supplement:

    • Download Supporting Information (PDF)
    • Download Dataset_S01 (XLSX)
PreviousNext
Back to top
Article Alerts
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on PNAS.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
HSP90 empowers evolution of resistance to hormonal therapy in human breast cancer models
(Your Name) has sent you a message from PNAS
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the PNAS web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
HSP90 empowers evolution of hormone resistance
Luke Whitesell, Sandro Santagata, Marc L. Mendillo, Nancy U. Lin, David A. Proia, Susan Lindquist
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2014, 111 (51) 18297-18302; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1421323111

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
HSP90 empowers evolution of hormone resistance
Luke Whitesell, Sandro Santagata, Marc L. Mendillo, Nancy U. Lin, David A. Proia, Susan Lindquist
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2014, 111 (51) 18297-18302; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1421323111
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 111 (51)
Table of Contents

Submit

Sign up for Article Alerts

Article Classifications

  • Biological Sciences
  • Medical Sciences

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Materials and Methods
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

You May Also be Interested in

Abstract depiction of a guitar and musical note
Science & Culture: At the nexus of music and medicine, some see disease treatments
Although the evidence is still limited, a growing body of research suggests music may have beneficial effects for diseases such as Parkinson’s.
Image credit: Shutterstock/agsandrew.
Large piece of gold
News Feature: Tracing gold's cosmic origins
Astronomers thought they’d finally figured out where gold and other heavy elements in the universe came from. In light of recent results, they’re not so sure.
Image credit: Science Source/Tom McHugh.
Dancers in red dresses
Journal Club: Friends appear to share patterns of brain activity
Researchers are still trying to understand what causes this strong correlation between neural and social networks.
Image credit: Shutterstock/Yeongsik Im.
White and blue bird
Hazards of ozone pollution to birds
Amanda Rodewald, Ivan Rudik, and Catherine Kling talk about the hazards of ozone pollution to birds.
Listen
Past PodcastsSubscribe
Goats standing in a pin
Transplantation of sperm-producing stem cells
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can improve the effectiveness of spermatogonial stem cell transplantation in mice and livestock, a study finds.
Image credit: Jon M. Oatley.

Similar Articles

Site Logo
Powered by HighWire
  • Submit Manuscript
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feeds
  • Email Alerts

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Special Feature Articles – Most Recent
  • List of Issues

PNAS Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Chemistry
  • Classics
  • Front Matter
  • Physics
  • Sustainability Science
  • Teaching Resources

Information

  • Authors
  • Editorial Board
  • Reviewers
  • Librarians
  • Press
  • Site Map
  • PNAS Updates

Feedback    Privacy/Legal

Copyright © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. Online ISSN 1091-6490