Small-sized colorectal cancer cells harbor metastatic tumor-initiating cells.

ABSTRACT: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is heterogeneous and contains different-sized cells. Recent studies have shown that tumor-initiating cells (TICs) are involved in cancer initiation, recurrence and metastasis. However, connections between cancer cell size and stem-like properties are largely unknown. Here we purified large- and small-sized CRC cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) based on forward scatter (FSC), and demonstrated that small CRC cells possess higher holoclone- and sphere-forming capacity in vitro, tumor-initiating capacity in vivo and form more lung metastases compared with large CRC cells. Furthermore, we found that down-regulated YAP1 (yes-associated protein 1) decreased tumor-initiating and metastatic capacity in small CRC cells but not in large CRC cell

SUBMITTER: Mu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5746114 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature