Dishevelled 1-Regulated Superpotent Cancer Stem Cells Mediate Wnt Heterogeneity and Tumor Progression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Various populations of cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been identified in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Wnt signaling is variably activated in HCC and regulates CSCs and tumorigenesis. We explored cell-to-cell Wnt and stemness heterogeneity in HCC by labeling freshly isolated cancer cells with a Wnt-specific reporter, thereby identifying a small subset (0.4%-8.9%) of Wnt-activity^high cells. Further cellular subset analysis identified a refined subset of Wnt-activity^highALDH1⁺EpCAM⁺ triple-positive (TP) cells as the most stem-like, phenotypically plastic, and tumorigenic among all putative CSC populations. These TP "superpotent CSCs" (spCSCs) specifically upregulate the expression of dishevelled 1 (DVL1) through the antagonism between abnormal spi

SUBMITTER: Liao WY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7066362 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature