Genome and transcriptome profiles of CD133-positive colorectal cancer cells

Colorectal carcinomas (CRC) might be organized hierarchically and contain a subpopulation of tumorigenic, putative cancer stem cells that are CD133 positive. We studied the biological and genetic characteristics of such cells in CRC cell lines and primary tumors. Three CRC cell lines were sorted in CD133 positive and negative fractions. The respective genetic aberration profiles were studied using array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and expression profiling. Tumorigenicity for each cellular population was tested by injection into nude mice. Additionally, we compared CD133+ and CD133- cells of 12 primary colorectal tumors using laser capture microdissection and aCGH. Three of five CRC cell lines displayed both CD133+ and CD133- cells, but tumorigenicity of these subfractions did not differ significantly and aCGH revealed essentially identical genomic imbalances. However, 96 genes were differentially expressed between the two populations. Array comparative genomic hybridization analysis after laser capture microdissection of CD133+ and CD133- areas in primary colorectal tumors revealed genetic differences in 7 of 12 cases. The use of cell lines for studying genomic alterations that define cancer stem cell characteristics, therefore, seems questionable. In contrast, CD133+ cells in primary cancer samples showed a unique genomic aberration profile. In conclusion, our data suggest that CD133 positivity defines a genetically distinct cellular compartment in primary CRC, which potentially includes tumor initiating cells.     

大肠癌患者外周血细胞CD133的表达

背景：近期有报道称在肿瘤患者外周血中检测出了高于正常值的CD133阳性细胞。 目的：观察CD133 mRNA和蛋白在大肠癌患者外周血中的表达并探讨其临床意义。 方法：应用流式细胞技术与RT-PCR反应检测29例大肠癌患者和20例正常对照外周血中CD133 抗原与mRNA的表达。 结果与结论：发生转移的大肠癌患者外周血中CD133阳性细胞比例显著高于正常对照及无转移的大肠癌患者(P < 0.01)。正常健康人群和无转移大肠癌患者外周血中CD133mRNA表达为阴性,发生转移的部分大肠癌患者外周血中CD133mRNA表达阳性,阳性率为35.7%(5/14),在超过38个以上循环时表达为弱阳性。结果表明,无转移大肠癌患者外周血中CD133 mRNA和蛋白表达与正常对照无区别,发生转移的大肠癌患者外周血中CD133 mRNA和蛋白高于正常对照和未发生转移者。     

CD133和CD44在结直肠癌细胞中的表达及其与患者5年生存率的相关性分析

目的: 探讨不同CD133/CD44细胞亚群的成瘤能力及CD133、CD44的表达水平对根治性结直肠癌患者术后生存率的影响,明确CD133和CD44作为结直肠癌肿瘤干细胞表面标志物的意义。方法: 利用流式细胞术分选出SW480细胞系中CD133和CD44标记的不同细胞亚群,比较其在裸鼠皮下成瘤情况;并利用免疫组化的方法观察CD133和CD44在90例结直肠癌患者石蜡切片标本的表达情况,对CD133、CD44与患者临床病理资料及生存率进行分析。结果: CD133⁺CD44⁺细胞群成瘤能力明显优于其它各组。CD133和CD44均在细胞膜上表达,两者均与患者性别、年龄 、肿瘤位置、肿瘤大小、浸润深度、淋巴结转移、肝转移、肿瘤分化程度及UICC分期无关(P＞0.05)。Kaplan-Meier生存分析法显示,CD133高表达组5年生存率为45.2%,CD133低表达组5年生存率为83.8%,两者有明显差异(P＜0.01);而CD44高表达组5年生存率(75.6%)与低表达组(70.1%)无明显差异(P＞0.05);其中CD133/CD44同时高表达者5年生存率明显较差(P＜0.01)。Cox风险回归模型分析结果表明,CD133、肝转移、分化程度及淋巴结转移是影响结直肠癌患者预后的几个独立危险因素(P＜0.05)。结论: CD133可作为结直肠癌肿瘤干细胞的良好标志物。CD133是影响结直肠癌患者预后的独立危险因素,其表达水平越高,预后越差;尽管CD44与结直肠癌患者预后无明显相关性,但联合检测CD133/CD44却能更好地判断患者的预后情况。     

Comparative analysis of tumorbiology and CD133 positivity in primary and recurrent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

In over 70% of the cases, patients with curative surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) develop recurrent tumors. The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis suggests that CSCs are chemoresistant and enriched in recurrent tumors. This study analyzes tumorbiology, expression of the metastasis-promoting CXCR4 and actinin-4, and of the CSC marker CD133 in primary and recurrent PDAC. Twenty-six patients underwent resection for primary and recurrent PDAC and most developed tumor recurrence within 2 years. In 81% the histologic tumor grade was unchanged. Immunohistochemistry could be performed with 15 pairs of primary and recurrent PDAC. The mean Ki-67 proliferation index increased (P = 0.06). About 30% of tumor cells were positive for CXCR4 and almost all tumor cells expressed actinin-4, but there were neither significant changes in the expression levels in recurrent PDAC, nor specifically enhanced levels in metastases. The prominent CD133 pattern was an apical membrane staining of inflammatorily altered, non-neoplastic ductal structures equally observed in primary and recurrent PDAC. The membrane CD133 positivity was consistently absent in neoplastic PDAC cells. Cytoplasmic CD133 positivity was extremely rare (0.85 and 0.34 cells/cm² in primary and recurrent PDAC, respectively; P = 0.07). Tumor grade is mainly unchanged and the expression of CXCR4, actinin-4 and CD133 are not enhanced in recurrent PDAC. The apical membrane CD133 positivity of normal and inflammatorily altered ductal structures and its lack in tumor cells bring the role of CD133 as a specific CSC marker in PDAC into question.     

Clinical and biological implications of CD133-positive and CD133-negative cells in glioblastomas

A number of recent reports have demonstrated that only CD133-positive cancer cells of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) have tumor-initiating potential. These findings raise an attractive hypothesis that GBMs can be cured by eradicating CD133-positive cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are a small portion of GBM cells. However, as GBMs are known to possess various genetic alterations, GBMs might harbor heterogeneous CSCs with different genetic alterations. Here, we compared the clinical characteristics of two GBM patient groups divided according to CD133-positive cell ratios. The CD133-low GBMs showed more invasive growth and gene expression profiles characteristic of mesenchymal or proliferative subtypes, whereas the CD133-high GBMs showed features of cortical and well-demarcated tumors and gene expressions typical of proneuronal subtype. Both CD133-positive and CD133-negative cells purified from four out of six GBM patients produced typical GBM tumor masses in NOD-SCID brains, whereas brain mass from CD133-negative cells showed more proliferative and angiogenic features compared to that from CD133-positive cells. Our results suggest, in contrast to previous reports that only CD133-positive cells of GBMs can initiate tumor formation in vivo CD133-negative cells also possess tumor-initiating potential, which is indicative of complexity in the identification of cancer cells for therapeutic targeting.     

Expression of the stem cell markers CD133 and nestin in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and clinical relevance

Background: To evaluate the prognostic implication of cancer stem cell markers in pancreac ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the expression of CD133 and nestin were investigated in a series of PDAC patients in relation to the survival rate. Methods: This series included 42 cases of PDAC patients and evaluated the stem cell markers CD133 and nestin expression detected by immunohistochemistry. The presence of immunopositive tumor cells considering intensity and area was evaluated and interpreted in comparison to the patients’ clinicopathological and survival data. Results: Twenty eight cases (66.7%) showed high CD133 expression. The CD133 expression was mainly identified in the apical border of the tumor cell, but aberrant expression in the cytoplasmic or perinuclear location was also noted. High nestin expression in tumor cells were found in only 2 cases, but high nestin expression along perinuerial or stromal region was found in 15 cases (35.7%). There was no correlation between CD133, nestin expression and gemcitabine resistance. Statistically significant difference was found in patient survival in N stage (p=0.007), and CD133 expression (p= 0.014) in univariate analysis. Nestin expression wan not statistically significant, but it was helpful to identify the perineurial invasion. In Cox-regression hazard model stratified by age and sex for multivariable analysis, AJCC stage and CD133 were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Conclusions: CD133 expression is upregulated in PDAC that is related to poor prognosis, and treatment targeted the CD133 positive cancer/cancer stem cells might be a promising therapeutic strategy for this patients.     

CD133: molecule of the moment

CD133 (prominin-1) was the first in a class of novel pentaspan membrane proteins to be identified in both humans and mice, and was originally classified as a marker of primitive haematopoietic and neural stem cells. Due to the highly restricted expression of CD133 family molecules on plasma membrane protrusions of epithelial and other cell types, in association with membrane cholesterol, a role in the organization of plasma membrane topology has also recently been assigned to this family. Studies have now confirmed the utility of CD133 as a marker of haematopoietic stem cells for human allogeneic transplantation. In addition, CD133 represents a marker of tumour-initiating cells in a number of human cancers, and therefore it may be possible to develop future therapies towards targeting cancer stem cells via this marker. The development of such therapies will be aided by a clearer understanding of the molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways that regulate the behaviour of CD133-expressing cells, and new data outlining the role of Wnt, Notch, and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling in CD133(+) cancer stem cell regulation are discussed within.     

CD133+ colon cancer cells are more interactive with the tumor microenvironment than CD133- cells

Experimental data indicate that colorectal cancer cells with CD133 expression exhibit enhanced tumorigenicity over CD133-negative (CD133-) cells. We hypothesized that CD133-positive (CD133+) cells, compared with CD133-, are more tumorigenic because they are more interactive with and responsive to their stromal microenvironment. Freshly dissected and dissociated cells from a primary colon cancer were separated into carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) and the epithelial cells; the latter were further separated into CD133+ and CD133- cells using fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The CD133+ cells formed large tumors in non-obese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficient (NOD-SCID) mice, demonstrating the phenotypic cellular diversity of the original tumor, whereas CD133- cells were unable to sustain significant growth. Affymetrix gene array analyses using t-test, fold-change and multiple test correction identified candidate genes that were differentially expressed between the CD133+ vs CD133- cells. RT-PCR verified differences in expression for 30 of the 46 genes selected. Genes upregulated (+ vs - cells) included CD133 (9.3-fold) and CXCR4 (4-fold), integrin β8 and fibroblast growth factor receptor 2. The CAF highly express the respective ligands: stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), vitronectin and FGF family members, suggesting a reciprocal relationship between the CD133+ and CAF cells. SDF-1 caused an increase in intracellular calcium in cells expressing both CD133 and CXCR4, confirming functional CXCR4. The CD133+/CXCR4+ phenotype is increased to 32% when the cells are grown in suspension compared with only 9% when the cells were allowed to attach. In Matrigel 3-D culture, the CD133+/CXCR4+ group treated with SDF-1 grew more colonies compared with vehicle, as well as significantly larger colony sizes of tumor spheres. These data demonstrate proof of principle that the enhanced tumorigenic potential of CD133+, compared with CD133-, cells is due to their increased ability to interact with their neighboring CAF.     

Both CD133+ and CD133- medulloblastoma cell lines express ligands for triggering NK receptors and are susceptible to NK-mediated cytotoxicity

Adoptive cellular immunotherapy has been proposed as an additional treatment of medulloblastoma, an intracranial tumor characterized by a particularly poor prognosis. However, little is known on the ability of the immune system to effectively attack this tumor. In this study, we show that activated human NK cells efficiently kill medulloblastoma cell lines in vitro. NK-mediated killing involved different activating receptors (including NKp46, NKp30, DNAM-1 and NKG2D) and correlated with the presence of their specific ligands on tumor cells. In contrast, the absence of major adhesion interactions, such as LFA-1/ICAM did not impair the NK-mediated cytotoxicity. Medulloblastoma expressed a number of tumor-associated molecules including CD146 and CD133, considered a marker for cancer stem cells. Remarkably, both CD133-positive and CD133-negative cell lines were susceptible to lysis. Tumor cells also expressed molecules that are currently used as diagnostic tools for neuroblastoma cell identification. In particular, B7 homolog 3 (B7-H3) was expressed by all the medulloblastoma cell lines analyzed, while the presence of GD(2) and NB84 was restricted to given cell lines and/or marked a defined tumor cell subset.     

CD133脐血干细胞对妊娠期糖尿病的影响

背景：脐血中含有大量的造血干细胞、丰富的间充质干细胞,与外周血及骨髓干细胞相比,新生儿脐血干细胞的异体排斥反应小,免疫原性低。 目的：观察CD133脐血干细胞植入治疗小鼠妊娠期糖尿病的可行性,为临床妊娠期糖尿病的治疗提供新的途径。 方法：采用高糖高脂喂养方法对孕鼠进行妊娠期糖尿病造模,流式细胞分选技术对脐血干细胞进行分离筛选。将筛选出的CD133脐血干细胞通过尾静脉植入妊娠期糖尿病小鼠体内,移植7 d后,测定小鼠空腹血糖、空腹胰岛素、总胆固醇和三酰甘油水平,采用苏木精-伊红染色观察小鼠胰腺组织的损伤和修复情况,采用胰岛素抵抗稳态模型分析小鼠胰岛素抵抗指数和胰岛功能。 结果与结论：采用流式细胞分选技术可以从脐血单核细胞中分选出CD133脐血干细胞,分选纯度可达到(90.24±2.56)%;尾静脉移植脐血干细胞7 d后,妊娠期糖尿病孕鼠总胆固醇、三酰甘油水平、空腹血糖和空腹胰岛素水平均明显下降(P < 0.05),胰岛素抵抗指数下降,胰岛功能改善(P < 0.05),孕鼠胰腺组织萎缩情况逆转,炎性浸润减少。结果表明脐血干细胞移植可以使妊娠期糖尿病病情得到改善,可能与其修复胰腺损伤、降低胰岛素抵抗指数、改善胰岛功能有关。 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：干细胞;骨髓干细胞;造血干细胞;脂肪干细胞;肿瘤干细胞;胚胎干细胞;脐带脐血干细胞;干细胞诱导;干细胞分化;组织工程     

Risk factors for lymphatic metastasis from pT1 colorectal adenocarcinoma

During the last 20 years, endoscopic removal of colorectal adenoma has become widely accepted as a replacement for removal by open surgery. Even colorectal adenocarcinomas are not excluded. The key question is when surgical treatment should still be preferred over endoscopic removal as the primary treatment. One good indicator is the frequency of lymph node metastasis, which should be compared with the overall risk involved in the surgical procedure itself.Histological examination allows subdivision of early colorectal adenocarcinomas into low-risk and high-risk groups. Classical parameters for a high-risk situation are lymphatic invasion, poor differentiation, and incomplete removal (R1). Additional risk factors that have recently been discussed are infiltration into the lower third of the submucosal layer (sm3) and dissociation (budding) of the tumour cells at the invasion front. Drawing on the literature and an analysis of our own patients, we demonstrate a positive correlation between these new markers and an elevated risk of the presence of lymph node metastasis.     

Prognostic value of cancer stem cell marker CD133 expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC): a systematic review and meta-analysis

CD133 is one of the most commonly used markers of pancreatic cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are characterized by their ability for self-renewal and tumorigenicity. Although the expression of CD133 has been reported to correlate with poor prognosis of PDAC in most literatures, some controversies still exist. In this study, we aimed to investigate the correlation between CD133 expression and prognosis and clinicopathological features in PDAC. A search in the Medline, EMBASE and Chinese CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) database (up to 1 March 2015) was performed using the following keywords pancreatic cancer, CD133, AC133, prominin-1 etc. Data from eligible studies were extracted and included into meta-analysis using a random effects model. Outcomes included overall survival and various clinicopathological features. We performed a final analysis of 723 patients from 11 evaluable studies for prognostic value and 687 patients from 12 evaluable studies for clinicopathological features. Our study shows that the pooled hazard ratio (HR) of overexpression CD133 for overall survival in PDAC was 0.58 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.49-0.67) by univariate analysis and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.52-1.03) by multivariate analysis. With respect to clinicopathological features, CD133 overexpression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) method was closely correlated with clinical TNM stage (TNM stage III+IV, OR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.19-0.54), tumor differentiation (poor differentiation, OR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.37-0.83), and lymph node metastasis (N1, 3.15, 95% CI: 1.56-6.36) in patients with PDAC. Our meta-analysis results suggest that CD133 is an efficient prognostic factor in PDAC. Overexpression of CD133 was significantly associated with clinical TNM stage, tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis.     

非小细胞肺癌肿瘤组织干细胞标志物CD133的表达

背景：非小细胞肺癌肿瘤组织中干细胞标志物CD133表达会呈现出一定的变化,并与疾病的发生和发展存在一定的联系。目的：探讨非小细胞肺癌肿瘤组织干细胞标志物CD133的表达情况,分析其与临床病理因素以及预后之间的关系。方法：收集135例非小细胞肺癌组织标本和60例正常肺组织标本。采用免疫组织化学染色法检测两组标本CD133的表达,并分析非小细胞肺癌肿瘤组织中CD133蛋白的表达与临床病理因素之间的关系。结果与结论：①非小细胞肺癌组CD133蛋白阳性表达率显著高于正常对照组(P < 0.05)。②CD133蛋白阳性表达与非小细胞肺癌患者年龄、性别以及肿瘤大小、肿瘤位置、组织学类型无关(P > 0.05);随着非小细胞肺癌肿瘤组织分化越差,CD133蛋白阳性表达呈现出不断上升趋势(P < 0.05);CD133蛋白阳性表达率在不同临床分期以及淋巴结有无转移之间差异也有显著性意义(P < 0.05)。③CD133以及TNM分期是非小细胞肺癌患者预后独立影响因素(P < 0.05),CD133蛋白表达阳性组中位生存时间显著短于阴性组(P < 0.05)。以上结果表明CD133参与非小细胞肺癌的发生和发展以及浸润和转移,对疾病的进展以及预后判断有重要的临床意义。中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：干细胞;骨髓干细胞;造血干细胞;脂肪干细胞;肿瘤干细胞;胚胎干细胞;脐带脐血干细胞;干细胞诱导;干细胞分化;组织工程     

CD133+ renal progenitor cells contribute to tumor angiogenesis

In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that resident progenitor cells may contribute to tumor vascularization and growth. CD133+ cells were isolated from 30 human renal carcinomas and characterized as renal resident progenitor cells on the basis of the expression of renal embryonic and mesenchymal stem cell markers. CD133+ progenitors differentiated into endothelial and epithelial cells as the normal CD133+ counterpart present in renal tissue. In the presence of tumor-derived growth factors, these cells were committed to differentiate into endothelial cells able to form vessels in vivo in SCID mice. Undifferentiated CD133+ progenitors were unable to form tumors when transplanted alone in SCID mice. When co-transplanted with renal carcinoma cells, CD133+ progenitors significantly enhanced tumor development and growth. This effect was not attributable to the tumorigenic nature of CD133+ progenitor cells because the same results were obtained with CD133+ cells from normal kidney. CD133+ progenitors contributed to tumor vascularization as the majority of neoformed vessels present within the transplanted tumors were of human origin and derived from the co-transplanted CD133+ progenitors. In conclusion, these results indicate the presence of a renal progenitor cell population in renal carcinomas that may differentiate in endothelial cells and favor vascularization and tumor growth.     

Genotype analysis of tumor-initiating cells expressing CD133 in neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common and lethal extracranial solid tumor of childhood. Despite aggressive therapy, more than half of the children with advanced NB will die of uncontrolled metastatic disease. After chemotherapy, tumor-initiating cells (TICs) could persist, cause relapses and metastasis. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the tumor-initiating properties of CD133high NB cells and to identify new specific genetic abnormalities. Isolation of the CD133high cell population from NB cell lines was followed by neurosphere formation, soft agar assays, and orthotopic injections in NOD/SCID/IL2Rγc-null mice. A differential genotyping analysis was performed with Affymetrix SNP 6.0 arrays on CD133low and CD133high populations and the frequency of the abnormalities of 36 NB tumors was determined. Our results show that CD133high NB cells possess tumor-initiating properties, as CD133high cells formed significantly more neurospheres and produced significantly more colonies in soft agar than CD133low. Injection of 500 CD133high cells was sufficient to generate primary tumors and frequent metastases in mice. Differential genotyping analysis demonstrated two common regions with gains (16p13.3 and 19p13.3) including the gene EFNA2 in the CD133high population, and two with loss of heterozygosity (16q12.1 and 21q21.3) in the CD133low population. The gain of EFNA2 correlated with increased expression of the corresponding protein. These abnormalities were found in NB samples and some were significantly correlated with CD133 expression. Our results show that CD133high NB cells have TICs properties and present different genotyping characteristics compared to CD133low cells. Our findings reveal insights into new therapeutic targets in NB TICs.     

干细胞标志物CD133在神经母细胞瘤中的表达

背景：神经母细胞瘤是婴幼儿和儿童最常见的实体肿瘤之一,靶向肿瘤干细胞的治疗能够有望从根本上治愈肿瘤,但是肿瘤干细胞数量较少,并具有抗凋亡、抗放化疗能力等,导致其对于放疗、化疗并不敏感。 目的：探究干细胞标志物CD133在神经母细胞瘤中的表达及其临床意义。 方法：收集2004年6月至2014年2月新疆医科大学第一附属医院小儿外二科诊治的58例神经母细胞瘤患儿临床资料,其中神经母细胞瘤患儿46例,节细胞母细胞瘤患儿12例,通过免疫组织化学分析法分析所有患儿肿瘤组织中的CD133表达水平,并研究神经母细胞瘤的病理分型、INSS分期、术后存活时长与CD133表达水平之间存在的联系。 结果与结论：共有22例(48%)神经母细胞瘤患儿CD133表达为阳性,有4例(33%)节细胞母细胞瘤患儿CD133表达阳性,肿瘤细胞胞浆为CD133主要表达部位。肿瘤组织各临床分期的CD133阳性率差异明显,其中1,2期为21%,3,4期为64%,4S期为36.4%,差异有显著性意义(P=0.011);组织分型为预后良好型患儿CD133阳性率为29%,明显低于预后不良组织型患儿(57%),差异有显著性意义(P=0.031)。CD133阴性患儿生存周期显著长于CD133阳性患儿(P < 0.05)。结果表明干细胞标志物CD133的表达与神经母细胞瘤发生、发展、转归有密切联系,在评估患儿术后存活时长、改进该病的诊断和治疗等方面具有重要意义。 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：干细胞;骨髓干细胞;造血干细胞;脂肪干细胞;肿瘤干细胞;胚胎干细胞;脐带脐血干细胞;干细胞诱导;干细胞分化;组织工程