The stem cell-associated antigen CD133 (Prominin-1) is a molecular therapeutic target for metastatic melanoma.

ABSTRACT: CD133 (Prominin-1) is considered the most important cancer stem cell (CSC)-associated marker identified so far, with increased expression in the CSC fraction of a large variety of human malignancies, including melanoma. Here we investigated the effects of CD133 downregulation in vitro and in vivo in human metastatic melanoma. The average number of CD133 molecules on the cell surface of FEMX-I melanoma cells was decreased by 8.7-fold and 1.8-fold using two different short hairpin RNAs. Downregulation of CD133, confirmed by immunocytochemistry, Western blotting, microarray analysis, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, resulted in slower cell growth, reduced cell motility, and decreased capacity to form spheroids under stem cell-like growth conditions. Clonal analysis reveale

SUBMITTER: Rappa G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2713505 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature