CD49fhigh Cells Retain Sphere-Forming and Tumor-Initiating Activities in Human Gastric Tumors

摘要: Identification of gastric tumor-initiating cells (TICs) is essential to explore new therapies for cancer patients. There are reports that TICs can be identified using the cell surface marker CD44 and they form floating spheres in culture, but we could not obtain consistent results with our patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDTX) cells. We thus searched another TICs, found CD49fhigh from newly-dissected cancers formed tumors histological features parental ones while CD49flow did when subcutaneously injected into immunodeficient mice. These indicate CD49f, a subunit laminin receptors, promising human TICs. established primary culture system PDTX where only grow on extracellular matrix (ECM) ECM-attaching spheres. When mice, these sphere ones, indicating system. Using this system, some sphere-forming were more resistant than lines chemotherapeutic agents, including doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil doxifluridine. was patient-dependent difference tumorigenicity their response anti-tumor drugs. suggest ECM plays an role growth will useful find drugs targeting