In vitro cytotoxic effect of Trastuzumab in combination with Pertuzumab in breast cancer cells is improved by interleukin-2 activated NK cells.

ABSTRACT

Targeting erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2) using the combination of Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab has demonstrated promising results in breast cancer therapy. It has further been revealed that interleukin-2 (IL-2) can activate Natural Killer cells (NK cells) and elevate their cytotoxic potency against tumor cells. In this study, we explored the cytotoxic effect of recombinant human IL-2 in combination with Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab on the ERBB2 positive (SK-BR-3) and negative (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cell lines. The cytotoxicity level of IL-2 activated NK cells (approximately 75%) were significantly higher than untreated cells (approximately 55%) in the presence of Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab against SK-BR-3 cells, while no difference was observed in the case of MDA-MB-231 cells (about 15%).