Spheroid-forming subpopulation of breast cancer cells demonstrates vasculogenic mimicry via hsa-miR-299-5p regulated de novo expression of osteopontin.

ABSTRACT: The growth of cancer cells as multicellular spheroids has frequently been reported to mimic the in vivo tumour architecture and physiology and has been utilized to study antitumour drugs. In order to determine the distinctive characteristics of the spheroid-derived cells compared to the corresponding monolayer-derived cells, we enriched multicellular spheroid-forming subpopulations of cells from three human breast cancer cell lines (MCF7, MCF10AT and MCF10DCIS.com). These spheroid-derived cells were injected into female athymic nude mice to assess their tumorigenic potential and were profiled for their characteristic miRNA signature. We discovered that the spheroid-derived cells expressed increased levels of osteopontin (OPN), an oncogenic protein that has been clinically correlated with i

SUBMITTER: Shevde LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3829031 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature