Department of Pathology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Cancer Res. 2013 Apr 1;73(7):2322-32. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-2991. Epub 2013 Feb 4.
Tumor-initiating cells (TIC), also known as cancer stem cells, are regarded widely as a specific subpopulation of cells needed for cancer initiation and progression. TICs have yet to be identified in esophageal tumors that have an increasing incidence in developed countries. Here, we report a CD90(+) cell population found in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), which is endowed with stem cell-like properties and high tumorigenic and metastatic potential. mRNA profiling of these cells suggested pathways through which they drive tumor growth and metastasis, with deregulation of an Ets-1/MMP signaling pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transition figuring prominently. These cells possessed higher self-renewal activity and were sufficient for tumor growth, differentiation, metastasis, and chemotherapeutic resistance. CD90(+) TICs were isolated and characterized from ESCC clinical specimens as well as ESCC cell lines. In freshly resected clinical specimens, they represented a rare cell population, the levels of which correlated with strong family histories and lymph node metastasis. Our results prompt further study of this CD90(+) population of esophageal TICs as potential therapeutic targets.
肿瘤起始细胞（TIC），也被称为癌症干细胞，被广泛认为是癌症起始和进展所必需的特定细胞亚群。在发达国家发病率不断上升的食管肿瘤中尚未发现 TIC。在这里，我们报告了在食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）中发现的 CD90(+)细胞群，它具有干细胞样特性和高致瘤性和转移性潜力。这些细胞的 mRNA 谱表明了它们驱动肿瘤生长和转移的途径，其中 Ets-1/MMP 信号通路和上皮-间充质转化的失调尤为突出。这些细胞具有更高的自我更新活性，足以促进肿瘤生长、分化、转移和化疗耐药性。我们从 ESCC 临床标本和 ESCC 细胞系中分离和鉴定了 CD90(+) TIC。在新切除的临床标本中，它们代表了一种罕见的细胞群体，其水平与强烈的家族史和淋巴结转移相关。我们的结果促使进一步研究这种 CD90(+)食管 TIC 作为潜在的治疗靶点。
