Journal
STEM CELLS
Volume 33, Issue 1, Pages 35-44Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1002/stem.1837
Keywords
Colorectal cancer stem cells; Lipid droplets; Wnt/beta-catenin pathway; Raman spectroscopy
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Funding
- Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro [AIRC IG 10189, AIRC IG 8730, AIRC 5x1000, AIRC IG 10254]
- National Fund against Cancer (SNFK)
- Dutch Cancer Society [UvA2009-4416, UvA2012-5425]
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The cancer stem cell (CSC) model is describing tumors as a hierarchical organized system and CSCs are suggested to be responsible for cancer recurrence after therapy. The identification of specific markers of CSCs is therefore of paramount importance. Here, we show that high levels of lipid droplets (LDs) are a distinctive mark of CSCs in colorectal (CR) cancer. This increased lipid content was clearly revealed by label-free Raman spectroscopy and it directly correlates with well-accepted CR-CSC markers as CD133 and Wnt pathway activity. By xenotransplantation experiments, we have finally demonstrated that CR-CSCs overexpressing LDs retain most tumorigenic potential. A relevant conceptual advance in this work is the demonstration that a cellular organelle, the LD, is a signature of CSCs, in addition to molecular markers. A further functional characterization of LDs could lead soon to design new target therapies against CR-CSCs.
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