Sphere-derived tumor cells exhibit impaired metastasis by a host-mediated quiescent phenotype.

ABSTRACT: The spread of lung cancer cells to distant sites represents a common event associated with poor prognosis. A fraction of tumor cells named cancer stem cells (CSCs) have the ability to overcome therapeutic stress and remain quiescent. However, whether these CSCs have also the capacity to initiate and sustain metastasis remains unclear. Here, we used tumor sphere cultures (TSC) isolated from mouse and human lung cancer models to enrich for CSCs, and assessed their metastatic potential as compared to non-CSCs. As expected, TSC overexpressed a variety of stem cell markers and displayed chemoresistance. The CSC phenotype of TSC was confirmed by their higher growth ability in soft agar and tumorigenic potential in vivo, despite their reduced in vitro cell growth kinetics. Surprisingly, the appea

SUBMITTER: Bleau AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4694990 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature