Circulating Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Tumor Cells With Loss of Heterozygosity in the TSC2 Gene Show Increased Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Activity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a destructive metastasizing neoplasm of the lung characterized by proliferation of LAM cells in specialized lung nodules. LAM cells are characterized by expression of the prometastatic and cancer-initiating hyaluronan receptor CD44v6, and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of TSC1 and TSC2. The circulating neoplastic LAM cells are thought to be involved in metastasis. Because LAM cells display properties of neoplastic, metastatic, and stem cell-like cancer cells, we hypothesized that elevated aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity, characteristic of cancer and stem cells, is a property of LAM cells.

Methods

We performed an in silico search of ALDH genes in microdissected LAM lung nodules. To identify circulating LAM cells, we osmoticall

SUBMITTER: Pacheco-Rodriguez G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6859254 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature