title: CD133 expression in circulating tumor cells from breast cancer patients: potential role in resistance to chemotherapy.
abstract: CD133 has been associated with cell properties such as self renewal, migration and vasculogenic mimicry, potentially involved in generation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). We characterized CD133 expression in CTCs of 98 nometastatic breast cancer (BC) patients. CTCs were isolated by immunomagnetic techniques using magnetic beads labeled with a multicytokeratin(CK)-specific antibody (CK3-11D5) and CTCs and CD133 detection through immunocytochemical methods. CK(+) /CD133(+) CTCs were identified in 65% of patients at baseline and 47.8% after systemic therapy (p = 0.53). Correlation of CD133 status in CTCs with classical clinicopathological characteristics and response to therapy was performed. Her2 not amplified and low Ki-67 index were positively correlated with presence of CK(+) /CD133(+) CTCs. Before any treatment, CK(+) /CD133(+) CTCs were more frequently isolated in patients with luminal BC subtype. No statistically significant differences were found between proportion of CK(+) /CD133(+) CTCs and BC subtypes after systemic therapy, implying a relative enrichment of CK(+) /CD133(+) CTCs in triple negative and HER2-amplified tumors. While CK(+) /CTCs decreases after chemotherapy when analyzing the whole population, CK(+) /CD133(+) CTCs were enriched in post-treatment samples in nonluminal BC subtypes. These findings suggest the potential role of CD133 as a promising marker of chemoresistance in nonluminal BC patients. Further prospective studies and extensive preclinical modeling will be needed to confirm whether CD133 is a marker of resistance to chemotherapy, and its role as a target for novel anticancer therapies targeting cancer stem cells and tumor vasculature.
authors: Institut de Recerca Contra la Leucémia Josep Carreras, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Departament de Medicina, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Rosa
authors: R
authors: Nadal
authors: F Gabriel
authors: FG
authors: Ortega
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Salido
authors: Jose A
authors: JA
authors: Lorente
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Rodríguez-Rivera
authors: Miguel
authors: M
authors: Delgado-Rodríguez
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Macià
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Fernández
authors: Josep M
authors: JM
authors: Corominas
authors: J Luis
authors: JL
authors: García-Puche
authors: Pedro
authors: P
authors: Sánchez-Rovira
authors: Francesc
authors: F
authors: Solé
authors: M Jose
authors: MJ
authors: Serrano
mesh_terms: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D018189:Immunomagnetic Separation / Q000379:methods; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008875:Middle Aged; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D064726:Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; D015703:Antigens, CD; D006023:Glycoproteins; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D010455:Peptides; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C000606023:PROM1 protein, human
keywords: CD133; CTCs; breast cancer; cancer stem cell; vasculogenic mimicry and drug resistance