Human Primary Breast Cancer Stem Cells Are Characterized by Epithelial-Mesenchymal Plasticity.

ABSTRACT: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most aggressive subtypes of breast cancer, with only limited treatment options available. Recently, cancer stem cells (CSCs) have emerged as the potential drivers of tumor progression due to their ability to both self-renew and give rise to differentiated progeny. The CSC state has been linked to the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and to the highly flexible state of epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP). We aimed to establish primary breast cancer stem cell (BCSC) cultures isolated from TNBC specimens. These cells grow as tumor spheres under anchorage-independent culture conditions in vitro and reliably form tumors in mice when transplanted in limiting dilutions in vivo. The BCSC xenograft tumors phenocopy the origina

SUBMITTER: Strietz J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7918351 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature