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Gene expression of primary MMTV-Neu tumors compared to secondary tumors generated from lin- and single tumor initiating cell (TIC) transplantation

ABSTRACT: Most solid tumors seem to be organized in a hierarchy in which only a fraction of cells, termed tumor-initiating cells (TICs), is capable of disseminating new tumors after transplantation into recipient mice. However, whether a single TIC can induce a tumor or whether it requires additional TICs or non-TICs for tumor initiation is not known. Here we show that injections of single CD24+:Jag1- cells from Her2/Neu+ mammary tumors into recipient mammary glands induced tumors at a frequency of 1/22. Single cell-derived secondary tumors exhibited histology, flow cytometry and global expression profiles that were indistinguishable from primary tumors. Thus, a single TIC can act cell autonomously to induce a tumor and therefore complete eradication of all TICs would be required to cure cancer.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE29616 | GEO | 2011/05/30

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA141361

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: cancer cells rely on glycolysis as main ATP source (Warbürg effect). Tumor-initiating cells (TICs) are the fraction of cells that give raise and repopulate tumors. TICs are exposed to prolonged periods of oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD), as they live in a hypoxic niche and they withstand prolonged lack of blood vessels during initial tumorigenesis or metastasis formation (avascular phase). Warbürg effect is energetically inefficient; we hypothesize that TICs might have differential metabolic features. Tumor eradication requires killing TICS; finding such features would have therapeutic implications. Methodology/principal findings: 106 MDA-MB-231 breast-cancer cells (hereafter Wt) were exposed for 5 weeks to 0.2% oxygen and 0.1g/l glucose, recovering 9 clones. Both flow-cytometry (50-fold enrichment in the CD24-/CD44+/CD133+ population) and xenografts in NOD/SCID mice using 100 cells (75% vs. 16% engraftment) suggest that OGD-resistant clones are true TICs (hereafter “TIC clones”). TIC clones showed a 30-fold higher replication and viability (BRDU incorporation, colony assay) than Wt. When exposed to OGD, ATP-production dropped 5-fold in WT, but was maintained in TIC clones by increasing 5-fold the fatty acid and oxygen consumption. These properties were explained by lack of upregulation of HIF-1 alpha and PDK1, as well as an increase in ATP-synthase. Analysis with metabolic inhibitors (2-deoxyglucose, antimycin-A) confirmed glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration as main routes of metabolism for Wt and TIC clones respectively. Metabolomics revealed that glutamine catabolism generated the NADPH required to quench reactive oxygen species generated during mitochondrial respiration in TIC clones. Glutamine deprivation or mitochondrial blockers were able to abrogate the viability of TIC clones. Conclusions/significance: the TIC-fraction of a cancer cell population withstands prolonged OGD by switching from the Warbürg effect to mitochondrial respiration. Targeting this metabolic feature abrogates the survival of TICs.

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Gene expression of primary MMTV-Neu tumors compared to secondary tumors generated from lin- and single tumor initiating cell (TIC) transplantation

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