Solamargine induces apoptosis and enhances susceptibility to trastuzumab and epirubicin in breast cancer cells with low or high expression levels of HER2/neu

Trastuzumab is used for breast cancer patients with high expression levels of HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)/neu; however, it has no effect on cancers with low levels of HER2/neu. SM (solamargine), a major steroidal alkaloid glycoside purified from Solarium incanum, triggered apoptosis of breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 cells) and non-cancerous breast epithelial cells (HBL-100 cells) within 3 h. To extend the application of trastuzumab in breast cancer patients, the regulation of HER2/neu expression by SM was investigated. SM significantly up-regulates HER2/neu expression in breast cancer cells with low and high expression levels of HER2/neu, and synergistically enhanced the effect of trastuzumab in inhibiting cell proliferation. Additionally, HER2/neu and TOP2A [TopoII (topoisomerase II) alpha] genes share the same amplicon on an identical chromosome. Notably, SM co-regulates HER2/neu and TopoII alpha expression markedly, and enhances TopoII inhibitor-EPI (epirubicin)-induced cytotoxicity to breast cancer cells.