Lineage Tracing and Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveal a Common Transcriptional State in Breast Cancer Tumor-Initiating Cells Characterized by IFN/STAT1 Activity.

ABSTRACT: A tumor cell subpopulation of tumor-initiating cells (TIC) or "cancer stem cells" is associated with therapeutic resistance, as well as both local and distant recurrences. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) activity is elevated in TICs in claudin-low models of human triple-negative breast cancer, which enables enrichment of TICs using a STAT-responsive reporter. Lineage tracing of TICs as they undergo cell state changes could enable a better understanding of the molecular phenotypes of TIC and uncover strategies to selectively target TICs. In this study, we developed a STAT-responsive lineage-tracing system and used it in conjunction with the original reporter to enrich for cells with enhanced mammosphere-forming potential. This approach was able to detect TICs in some

SUBMITTER: Souto EP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11997551 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature