5-Fluorouracil may enrich cancer stem cells in canine mammary tumor cells in vitro

Oncology Letters
Bin ZhouDegui Lin

Abstract

Mammary gland carcinomas are the most common neoplasms in women and unsterilized female dogs. Owing to the existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), chemotherapy is not able to cure these types of diseases completely. A number of studies have demonstrated that CSCs are resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs, but whether canine mammary tumor cells that have acquired resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) exhibited properties of CSCs remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether 5-fluorouracil-resistant canine mammary tumor cells exhibited properties of CSCs. CSCs were analyzed using western blot assays, ultra-low attachment sphere cultures, flow cytometry and migration (wound healing and Transwell) assays. The results indicated that, compared with parental cells, proteins associated with the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 were overexpressed, the number and size of spheres in the 5-FU-resistant cells were increased, the ratio of CD44+/CD24-/low cells was increased and the migratory ability was improved in vitro compared with the 5-FU-susceptible cells. In conclusion, stimulation with chemotherapeutic drugs including 5-FU is a good method for increasing the proportion of canine mamma...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Cell Migration

Cell migration is involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes such as embryonic development, cancer metastasis, blood vessel formation and remoulding, tissue regeneration, immune surveillance and inflammation. Here is the latest research.

Adherens Junctions

An adherens junction is defined as a cell junction whose cytoplasmic face is linked to the actin cytoskeleton. They can appear as bands encircling the cell (zonula adherens) or as spots of attachment to the extracellular matrix (adhesion plaques). Adherens junctions uniquely disassemble in uterine epithelial cells to allow the blastocyst to penetrate between epithelial cells. Discover the latest research on adherens junctions here.

Cadherins and Catenins

Cadherins (named for "calcium-dependent adhesion") are a type of cell adhesion molecule (CAM) that is important in the formation of adherens junctions to bind cells with each other. Catenins are a family of proteins found in complexes with cadherin cell adhesion molecules of animal cells: alpha-catenin can bind to β-catenin and can also bind actin. β-catenin binds the cytoplasmic domain of some cadherins. Discover the latest research on cadherins and catenins here.