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Co-expression of CD44 and ABCG2 in spheroid body-forming cells of gastric cancer cell line MKN45.

BACKGROUND/AIMS
The cancer stem cell (CSC) theory hypothesizes that CSCs are regarded as the cause of tumor formation, recurrence and metastasis. This study aimed to investigate whether spheroid body-forming cells in human gastric cancer cell were enriched for CSC properties, and to assess the expression of candidate CSC markers, cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) and adenosine triphosphate binding cassette transporter G 2 (ABCG2) in the MKN45 spheroid body cells.


METHODOLOGY
Human gastric cancer cell line MKN45 were plated in stem cell conditioned culture system allowed for spheroid body forming. The expression levels of CD44 and ABCG2 in the spheroid body cells were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR, western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining, and the tumorigenicity of the spheroid body-forming cells were assessed by in vivo xenograft studies in nude mice.


RESULTS
The MKN45 cells could form spheroid bodies cultured in stem cell conditioned medium. The spheroid body-forming cells showed a significantly greater (p <0.05) expression of CD44 and ABCG2 than the parental cells.


CONCLUSIONS
Spheroid body cells from gastric cancer cell line MKN45 cultured in stem cell conditioned medium possessed gastric CSC properties. The cells co-expressed of CD44 and ABCG2 might represent a subpopulation of gastric CSCs.