Lin Chien-Hung, Chao Li-Keng, Hung Peir-Haur, Chen Yann-Jang
Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University Taipei, Taiwan ; Department of Pediatrics, Zhongxing Branch, Taipei City Hospital Taipei, Taiwan.
Institute of Tranditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University Taipei, Taiwan ; Department of Internal Medicine, Tzu Chi Medical Center Hualien, Taiwan.
Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2014 Apr 15;7(5):2372-81. eCollection 2014.
A subset of cancer cells, termed cancer stem cells (CSCs) or tumor-initiating cells (TICs) could initiate tumors and are responsible for tumor recurrence and chemotherapeutic resistance. In this study, we enriched TICs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) by the spheres formation and characterized the stem-like signatures such as self-renewal, proliferation, chemoresistance and tumorigenicity. By this method, we investigated that epigallocathechin gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenol in green tea could target TICs and potently inhibit sphere formation, eliminate the stem-like properties and enhance chemosensitivity in NPC through attenuation of STAT3 activation, which could be important in regulating the stemness expression in NPC. Our results demonstrated that STAT3 pathway plays an important role in mediating tumor-initiating capacities in NPC and suggest that inactivation of STAT3 with EGCG may represent a potential preventive and therapeutic approach for NPC.
一部分癌细胞，被称为癌症干细胞（CSCs）或肿瘤起始细胞（TICs），能够引发肿瘤，并导致肿瘤复发和化疗耐药。在本研究中，我们通过球体形成法富集了鼻咽癌（NPC）中的TICs，并对其干细胞样特征进行了表征，如自我更新、增殖、化疗耐药性和致瘤性。通过这种方法，我们研究发现表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯（EGCG），绿茶中的主要多酚成分，可靶向TICs，并通过减弱STAT3激活有效抑制球体形成，消除干细胞样特性，增强NPC的化疗敏感性，这对于调节NPC中的干性表达可能具有重要意义。我们的结果表明，STAT3信号通路在介导NPC的肿瘤起始能力中起重要作用，并提示用EGCG使STAT3失活可能代表一种针对NPC的潜在预防和治疗方法。
