Ezrin Promotes Stem Cell Properties in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Self-renewal maintains the long-term clonogenic growth that is required for cancer relapse and progression, but the cellular processes regulating this property are not fully understood. In many diseases, self-renewal is enhanced in cancer stem cells (CSC), and in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), CSCs are characterized by the surface expression of CD44. In addition to cell adhesion, CD44 impacts cell shape and morphology by modulating the actin cytoskeleton via Ezrin, a member of the Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin (ERM) family of linker proteins. We examined the expression of Ezrin in PDAC cells and found higher levels of both total and activated Ezrin in CSCs compared with bulk tumor cells. We also found that the knockdown of Ezrin in PDAC cells decreased clonogenic growth, self-renewal, cel

SUBMITTER: Penchev VR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6445733 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature