title: Molecular characteristics of cancer stem-like cells derived from human breast cancer cells.
abstract: We characterized the cellular properties of cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) isolated from immortalized MDA-MB453 human breast cancer cells in culture. We showed that although the expression of Octamer-binding transcription factor-4 (OCT4) correlates to stemness in these CSLCs, OCT4 knockdown does not induce their differentiation. Our results suggest that the differentiation program in MDA-MB453 CSLCs is blocked at a step upstream of the transcription of the OCT4 promoter, allowing CSLCs to maintain their population through asymmetric cell division during many repeated passages. Comparative expression analysis indicates that only a subset of genes and signaling pathways known to be associated with survival and maintenance of CSCs are selectively expressed in CSLCs, as compared with non-CSLCs fractionated from the same parental MDA-MB453 cells. These results suggest that selective expression of a limited number of genes may be sufficient for establishment and maintenance of CSLCs with high tumorigenicity.
authors.affiliation: Center for Pharmacogenetics and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. yok5@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Young Dong
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Dong Hoon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Jun Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zakrzewska
authors.forename: Seog-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Cheol Yong
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Yong Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yong Tae
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D001343:Autophagy; D015415:Biomarkers; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D059865:Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology; D054875:Ubiquitination
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006657:Histones; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C494173:POU5F1 protein, human; D014212:Tretinoin