Title:Cancer Stem Cells Stemness Transcription Factors Expression Correlates with Breast Cancer Disease Stage
Volume: 7
Issue: 6
Author(s): Panagiotis Apostolou, Maria Toloudi, Marina Chatziioannou, Eleni Ioannou and Ioannis Papasotiriou
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Breast cancer, cancer stem cells, nanog, Sox2, Oct3/4, CD34, nestin, cancer cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Abstract: Cancer stem cell-like cells (CSCs) are cancer cells that have the ability of self-renewal and differentiation into
multiple malignant cell types (hierarchy). Thus, can cause relapses and metastasis. CSCs’ phenotype is defined by special
transcription factors such as Nanog, Oct3/4, Sox2, Nestin, and CD34. The present study aims to determine the change in
gene expression of the above markers in correlation with the stage of the disease in breast cancer patients. Initially, whole
blood samples from patients with breast cancer were collected, followed by the isolation and culture of circulating tumor
cells (CTCs). This was followed by the quantification of CSCs from the above cultures. CSCs’ molecular analysis was
performed with qPCR, with the use of gene specific primers. At the same time of the analysis, the clinical assessments of
the patients were requested from their physicians. The results indicated a linear relationship between the gene expression
of stemness markers and the stage of the disease, as well as specific expression patterns by stage. It seems that these genes
have an important role in the progression of the disease, thus they might be target for new treatment approaches.
