title: Floating cells with stem cell properties in gastric cell line SGC-7901.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To obtain floating spheres from the adherent gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 and to analyze the properties of the spheres.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum-free medium was applied to cultured SGC-7901 cells. Limiting dilution assay, tumor formation assay, microarray analysis, and real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR were used to test the stem cell properties of the spheres.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A subpopulation of SGC-7901 cells formed floating spheres in serum-free medium. These cells showed enhanced tumorigenic ability and also highly expressed certain stem-cell-associated proteins.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We successfully propagated floating spheres with stem cell properties in the SGC-7901 gastric cell line.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Surgery, Fujian Provincial Tumor Hospital, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: QiuHong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: FuSheng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: YangMei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: TianRong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: MinGang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ying
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival; D005453:Fluorescence; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D016513:Mice, SCID; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous