Functional and transcriptomic characterization of chidamide-resistant triple-negative breast cancer cell line

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most malignant subtype of breast cancer, the most common cancer in the world, and lacks specific therapeutic targets. Histone deacetylases are abnormally increased in a variety of tumors including TNBC, and its inhibitor has anti-tumor effects and the potential to reverse drug resistance. Chidamide is the only HDAC inhibitor approved for the clinical treatment of solid tumors in the world, and its efficacy in TNBC patients is not clear or controversial mainly due to the lack of predictive biomarkers for efficacy. An in vitro drug-resistant cell model would help clarifying of molecular mechanisms underlying chidamide-resistance phenomenon. The aim of this study was to systematically understand and compare the characteristics of induced chidamide-resistant TNBC cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 at the level of both cell and molecule.