CD133+ tumor initiating cells in a syngenic murine model of pancreatic cancer respond to Minnelide.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the fourth leading cause for cancer-related mortality with a survival rate of less than 5%. Late diagnosis and lack of effective chemotherapeutic regimen contribute to these grim survival statistics. Relapse of any tumor is largely attributed to the presence of tumor-initiating cells (TIC) or cancer stem cells (CSC). These cells are considered as hurdles to cancer therapy as no known chemotherapeutic compound is reported to target them. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a TIC-targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer.

Experimental design

We isolated CD133(+) cells from a spontaneous pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma mouse model and studied both surface expression, molecular markers of pancreatic TICs. We also studied tumor initiation p

SUBMITTER: Banerjee S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4008688 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature