Wang Xiaochen, Li Kang, Cheng Maosheng, Wang Ganping, Han Hui, Chen Fangfang, Liao Wenjing, Chen Zhi, Chen Jianwen, Bao Yong, Peng Liang, Chen Demeng
Center for Translational Medicine, Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510030, China.
Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510030, China.
Stem Cells Int. 2020 Aug 20;2020:8877577. doi: 10.1155/2020/8877577. eCollection 2020.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a frequent malignant tumor with low 5-year overall survival. Targeting ESCC tumor-initiating cells (TICs) may provide a new research avenue to achieve better therapeutic effects of ESCC. However, the identity and characteristics of ESCC TICs remain poorly understood. Through genetic lineage tracing approach, we found that a group of Moloney murine leukemia virus insertion site 1- (Bmi1-) expressing cell populations present in the invasive front of the esophageal epithelium, providing a continuous flow of tumor cells for ESCC. Subsequently, we found that ablation of Bmi1 cells from mice with ESCC led to inhibition of tumor growth. In addition, our results demonstrated that PTC-209, an inhibitor of Bmi1, was able to inhibit ESCC progression when combined with cisplatin. In summary, our data suggest that Bmi1 cells serve as TICs in ESCC.
食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）是一种常见的恶性肿瘤，其5年总生存率较低。靶向ESCC肿瘤起始细胞（TICs）可能为实现更好的ESCC治疗效果提供一条新的研究途径。然而，ESCC TICs的身份和特征仍知之甚少。通过基因谱系追踪方法，我们发现一群表达莫洛尼鼠白血病病毒插入位点1（Bmi1）的细胞群体存在于食管上皮的浸润前沿，为ESCC提供了持续的肿瘤细胞流。随后，我们发现从患有ESCC的小鼠中剔除Bmi1细胞会导致肿瘤生长受到抑制。此外，我们的结果表明，Bmi1抑制剂PTC-209与顺铂联合使用时能够抑制ESCC进展。总之，我们的数据表明Bmi1细胞在ESCC中充当TICs。
