Hes1 is involved in the self-renewal and tumourigenicity of stem-like cancer cells in colon cancer.

ABSTRACT: A small subpopulation of cancer cells with stem cell-like features might be responsible for tumour generation, progression, and chemoresistance. Hes1 influences the maintenance of certain stem cells and progenitor cells and the digestive systems. We found upregulated Hes1 in poorly differentiated cancer samples compared with well-differentiated tumour samples, and most of the adenocarcinomas exhibited significantly higher levels of Hes1 mRNA compared with that observed in matched normal colon samples. Moreover, Hes1 expression was found to be correlated with the expression of stem cell markers in colon cancer samples, and Hes1 upregulates the expression of stemness-related genes in colon cancer cells. In addition, Hes1 enhances the self-renewal properties of the stem-like cells by increasi

SUBMITTER: Gao F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3912485 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature