An adult tissue-specific stem cell molecular phenotype is activated in epithelial cancer stem cells and correlated to patient outcome.
Recent studies have shown that embryonic stem cell-like molecular phenotypes are commonly activated in human epithelial primary tumors and are linked to adverse patient prognosis.(1,2) However it remains unclear whether these correlations to outcome are linked to the differentiation status of the human primary tumors(1) or represent molecular reminiscences of epithelial cancer stem cells.(2) In addition, while it has been demonstrated that leukemic cancer stem cells re-acquire an embryonic stem cell-like phenotype,(3,4) the molecular basis of stem cell function in epithelial cancer stem cells has not been investigated. Here we show that a normal adult tissue-specific stem cell molecular phenotype is commonly activated in epithelial cancer stem cells and for the first time provide evidence that enrichment in cancer stem cells-specific molecular signatures are correlated to highly aggressive tumor phenotypes in human epithelial cancers.
Hussenet
Thomas
T
IGBMC, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Département de Biologie du Cancer, CNRS-Université de Strasbourg UMR 7104-INSERM U964, Illkirch, France. hussenet@igbmc.fr
Dembélé
Doulaye
D
Martinet
Nadine
N
Vignaud
Jean-Michel
JM
du Manoir
Stanislas
S
D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D011379:Prognosis