Objective:Although the development of trastuzumab has improved the outlook for women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer,the resistance to anti-HER2 therapy is a growing clinical dilemma.We aim to determine whether HER2-specific T cells generated from dendritic cells (DCs) modified with HER2 gene could effectively kill the HER2-positive breast cancer cells,especially the trastuzumab-resistant cells.Methods:The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors,whose HLA haplotypes were compatible with the tumor cell lines,were transfected with reconstructive human adeno-association virus (rhAAV/HER2) to obtain the specific killing activities of T cells,and were evaluated by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)releasing assay.Results:Trastuzumab produced a significant inhibiting effect on SK-BR-3,the IC50 was 100ng/ml.MDA-MB-453 was resistant to trastuzumab even at a concentration of 10,000 ng/ml in vitro.HER2-specific T lymphocytes killed effectively SK-BR-3 [(69.86±13.41)％] and MDA-MB-453 [(78.36±10.68)％] at 40:1 (effector:target ratio,E:T),but had no significant cytotoxicity against HER2-negative breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 or MCF-7 (less than 10％).Conclusion:The study showed that HER2-specific T lymphocytes generated from DCs modified by rhAAV/HER2 could kill HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines in a HER2-dependent manner,and result in significantly high inhibition rates on the intrinsic trastuzumab-resistant cell line MDA-MB-453 and the tastuzumab-sensitive cell line SK-BR-3.These results imply that this immunotherapy might be a potential treatment to HER2-positive breast cancer.