title: Characterization of a stem-like population in hepatocellular carcinoma MHCC97 cells.
abstract: A small stem-like subpopulation was isolated from human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) MHCC97 cells, characterized by their high efflux ability of the Hoechst 33342 dye. These side population (SP) cells were able to generate a heterogeneous mixture of SP and main population (MP) cells, while the MP cells rarely generated SP cells. Cell cycle analysis also revealed that more SP cells were in the G0 phase. They express higher levels of BCRP1, AFP and CK19 than MP cells. SP cells showed significantly higher viability than MP cells following treatment with doxorubicin or methotrexate. Actin polymerization and migration assays indicate that SP cells have a higher migration capacity and in vivo tumorigenicity of these cells is also higher. Collectively, we conclude that the SP is an enriched source of stem-like cells and may be an effective target for therapy and a useful tool to investigate the HCC tumorigenic and metastatic process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ren
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kai-Shan
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Da-Yong
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Zhen-Yu
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Ti
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Fu-Qin
authors.initials: FQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ke-Feng
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Dou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D002453:Cell Cycle; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D016764:Cell Polarity; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12 / Q000502:physiology; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D054377:Chemokine CXCL12