title: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition triggers cancer stem cell generation in human thyroid cancer cells.
abstract: Increasing evidence has shown that cancer stem cells or tumor initiating cells are the 'root cause' of malignant cancers. However, the exact origin of cancer stem cells still remains obscure in thyroid research. EMT has been implicated in the initiation and conversion of early-stage tumors into invasive malignancies and is associated with the stemness of cancer cells. Based on these facts, a new hypothesis was suggested that EMT induces cancer stem cell generation and tumor progression in human thyroid cancer cells in vitro. In the present study, FTC133 cells identified as EMT-negative cells were used for EMT induction by HIF‑1α transfection. Overexpression of HIF-1α induced FTC133 cells to undergo EMT, downregulated the epithelial markers E-cadherin, upregulated the mesenchymal marker vimentin, and associated with highly invasive and metastatic properties. Most importantly, the induction of EMT promoted the stem-like side population cell proportion in the FTC133 cells. These results indicate that EMT induction promotes CSC traits and cell proportions in the thyroid cancer cells, which implies that EMT could induce cancer stem cell generation and tumor progression in thyroid cancers. Further understanding of the role of EMT and cancer stem cells in cancer progression may reveal new targets for the prevention or therapy of thyroid cancers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Ji Shui Tan Hospital, The 4th Medical College of Peking University, Beijing, P.R. China. lanjingling0627@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Dai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Bing-Yin
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Li-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.forename: Hai-Ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Guo-Ying
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Li-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015820:Cadherins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000235:genetics*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000235:genetics; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000099162:Endothelial PAS Domain-Containing Protein 1
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D015820:Cadherins; D000099162:Endothelial PAS Domain-Containing Protein 1