The Lymphovascular Embolus of Inflammatory Breast Cancer Expresses a Stem Cell-Like Phenotype

摘要: Inflammatory breast carcinoma (IBC) is a particularly lethal form of cancer characterized by exaggerated lymphovascular invasion, which phenotype recapitulated in our human xenograft MARY-X. MARY-X generated spheroids vitro that resemble the embryonal blastocyst. Because resemblance to blastocyst and their resistance traditional chemotherapy/radiotherapy, we hypothesized expressed stem cell-like phenotype. cell markers including stellar, rex-1, nestin, H19, potent transcriptional factors, oct-4, nanog, sox-2, are associated with self-renewal developmental potential. Most importantly, profile CD44+/CD24−/low, ALDH1, most uniquely, CD133. A significant percentage single cells exhibited distinct proliferative morphogenic potencies vitro. As few as 100 derived from single-cell clonogenic expansion were tumorigenic recapitulation IBC Prototype signaling pathways such notch3 active The also was emboli cases independent molecular subtype. This may contribute aggressive nature but lend itself selective targeting.